The Punk and the God Father: An Olympic Hero Tale
by ithinkabouttrees
Summary: August Beakon is a quirky, punkish teen living a normal life on the shores of LA. Well, she was until a parkour accident threw her into the world of Camp Half-Blood. With monsters, emotions, and Gods abound, can August save the world before the sun sets?
1. Prologue

_A warm, early summer breeze blows through Olympus. The night is young and the world is calm, but all is not well in the world of the Gods. Something is threatening the balance. Something... BIG.  
><em>

"I promise I'll make sure she makes it up to you. I can't go down there and convince a judge, no matter how incompetent, to believe that I'm an actually attorney. Just make the judge believe that Half-Blood is a camp for juvenile delinquents to go to rehabilitate their behavior. That's not a total lie either. You of all of us will be the best at this." The young god paces back and forth on the marble floor of the thrown room, almost seeming out of his element clad in traditional light yellow toga as opposed to some jeans.

"What could she repay me with? This child is a reckless rebel without any sort of cause. Telling her to repay me would result in her doing the opposite. Tell me one thing that she could repay me with." The goddess whom he was speaking with replies. Her grey eyes pierces through the young god like daggers, questioning and calculating.

"I had a vision last night. Your daughter will be caught in a trap that might cost her more than a few scars. But, I can make sure that she gets saved if you promise to make sure that mine gets to half-blood." The god pleads. After what seemed like an eternity, the elder goddess answers.

"Which daughter?"

"Not the one you're thinking of." He replies quickly.

"Then which… you're not talking about Ariadne?" It was out of sorts for the goddess to look panicked, but there was nothing ordinary about the circumstances under which the two were meeting, save for the breeze and the calm.

"Yes. I can make sure she gets saved. I just need to make sure that mine does too." The god sticks out his hand to make a deal. Hesitant, but unwilling to loose a child, the goddess accepts.

"Fine."

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><p><strong>Welcome to what is possibly the biggest fanfiction I've ever attempted to write. A few notes before this takes off full force;<strong>

**1) This is LONG (think 2,000 words a chapter, 40 chapters). If you're into that, this is your bag. If not, I'd advise you to take a look at another fanfic.  
>2) There are OC's. If you came for something completely canon character driven, I'm sorry. These guys are likeable though, I swear!<br>**3) Praises are always welcome and encouraged! However, I'm not going to take suggestions like "put _ in the next chapter!" That's what my other fic is for.**  
>4) If you must, I only listen toaccept CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. I do not want to hear your flaming or your complaining. If it's a legit suggestion, carry on.  
>5) Actual chapters start Christmas day! Stay tuned!<br>**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Paradise**

The past week had not been going in August's favor. At this moment, she was hiking up a hill to a camp she had no desire to go to all because of a stupid parkour stunt she had pulled.

"Well, at least it's better than jouvie." She thought to herself as she lugged her duffle bag and guitar case up the hill with her. Annoyed and tired, August replayed for the thousandth time all the weirdness she had suffered through the past few days to end up in this situation.

"What's wrong Ed? Got concrete in your pants or what?" August screamed to her friend, who was trailing behind her by mere feet. To her left, her best friend Connie raced along the rooftop with her. The path they took home was not and ordinary walk home from school. Oh no, that would be too simple for August. Flipping, jumping, sliding, and hanging, the three of them were like urban ninjas making their way through the city. August had gotten into a form of urban street gymnastics by the name of parkour about three years ago, at age eleven. It had been a signature of hers ever since, and she lived for the rush. Parkour was like running, gymnastics, and being a ninja rolled into one; the perfect sport for someone who suffers from ADHD. Everything about it instantly felt right to August. The running, flipping through the air, landing and taking off again all came so naturally that she hardly ever blundered. It didn't matter if she did though; she always healed incredibly quickly.

"Whatever yo! You're just jealous that I can jump hire than you!" Ed yelled back as they reached their final destination, August's house. It was a nice two-story house in the Pacific Palisades of California. The neighborhood was about as safe as you could get; an almost textbook structure of the stereotypical suburban neighborhood, but with liberals. August loved it there. There was so much freedom, so many ways to express yourself, and so many places to bust with a guitar for some extra cash. And the sun! August hated the rain and the dark weather, and the sun was always out in the Palisades. The surf was pretty awesome too. August's life was pretty much the perfect set up for a fourteen year old. It was paradise.

"All right guys! Looks like we broke our old time!" Connie said as she dropped down from the top of an old house next-door to August's house. August raised her hands above her head in victory as the three of them walked the rest of the way to the house for homework and snacks, just like they did every Friday for the past two years.

"I was wondering where you guys were." August's mom, Joyce, sat in an old saddle chair reading the Hollywood Reporter and greeted the trio as they approached. Her mother was a tall, tanned, blonde haired woman who was always seen wearing a permanent laid back expression and Raybans on her head. Joyce was a music producer for Universal Hollywood records, which meant that unless she was recording, she was at home a lot, and that meant she was always willing to have August's friends over. August felt like her mother trumped all other mom's on the face of the planet in coolness, and most of her friends agreed. Joyce put her magazine away and nodded for the three of them to come inside.

"So Ms. Beakon, what kind of snacks do we have in your fridge today?" Ed asked walking towards the fridge in the Mexican tiled kitchen.

"Hey Eddy get your head out of my fridge! The snacks are on the table already, so you guys better get started on your homework if you want to get anything done before sundown." Joyce chided jokingly to Ed as she gave her daughter a hug hello.

"Thanks mom! We'll get started and hopefully finish faster than you can say, "my poor child is having another ADHD moment again and is now playing Elder Scrolls!" August replied, taking a seat at the wooden dining room table where the chips and crackers were laid out. Her mother grinned her daughter's snark, something inherited from her side of the family, as Connie and Ed followed in suit to the table.

"So, what's on the agenda for today's homework?" Connie asked as she removed her binder from her back pack. Connie was of Asian-American heritage. Her father was from Korea, and her mother from LA, both writers. Connie was an artsy type of kid who did her own thing, and dressed her own way regardless of what others thought. Her hair was cut into a short jagged anime style cut, and her attire of choice consisted of black cargo shorts, a black short sleeve hoody, and her favorite pair of aviator goggles. She made the art of standing out and in at the same time look easy.

"Whatever it is, I'm going to try and get the math out of the way first. Geometry sucks so hard sometimes" Ed replied, munching on some triscuts. Ed was a skinny, tall, suburban rasta boy. He was as white as they came, but his red hair was in dreads, he wore a rasta hat and t-shirts wherever he went, and lived by the motto of "don't worry, be happy."

"True story. Which is exactly why I'm not going to start that right now." August agreed, biting down on a strawberry. August, the defacto leader of the group, could care less about any sort of academics if it didn't involve art. She looked like a typical grunge kid, her hair was dirty blonde and came a little past her shoulders with jagged layers cut into it. Her almond shaped eyes were an innocent blue that didn't match her personality at all, and completely clashed with the lip and eyebrow piercings. She wasn't tall or short, and she was built more like gymnast with naturally broad shoulders, toned legs, and wiry limbs. True to her grungy California nature, she was hardly seen without jeans and a band t-shirt, and her old orange pair of Chuck Taylor high-tops. August brushed her blonde hair out of her face as she reached into her bag, pulling out a literature textbook.  
>"Alas," August began in a mock British accent as she put her literature textbook unto the table, "Poetry class draws me in like the riptide on a stormy winter night." August recited, her trademark poetic lingo slipping in.<p>

"Yes oh poetic one, how did I not see that coming?" Ed joked.  
>"August?" She heard her mother call her name from the porch.<br>"Yeah mom?" She yelled back, to lazy to get up and go talk to her mother.  
>"I'm on business call for the next few minutes, so keep them busy in there ok?"<br>"Sure thing mom!" August said, and then tried to regain focus. As much as she loved poetry, the words seemed to jumble across the page as she tried to make out the content. Dyslexia was not her friend at all. Just as the words started to make some form of sense, Connie leaned over the table, a mischievous grin across her face.

"You know that new Cul-de-sac they're building a few streets over? It's full of unfinished housing and bare structures!" She remarked as if housing was the coolest thing ever. August had no idea what to say, and just gave Connie a blank stare. "It's a goldmine for free running! I bet you anything it would be awesome to run it at night! It would be like being a legit urban ninja!" Connie responded to August's stare as if it was obvious as she explained her new plan. Ed, however, wasn't so buzzed.

"Look bra, I'm all for running around and stuff, but that seems a little iffy. You don't know what type of shape those house are in right now! For all we know, we could end up with lock jaw from rusty nails or something." Ed replied, helping himself to more triscuts and chips.

"I really don't think I wanna go running around in construction sites at night. That sounds like the set up of a really bad horror movie." August agreed with Ed, but for different reasons. August and nighttime didn't seem to mix well; her luck always ran out whenever the sun went down it seemed. Whether it was the time she broke her wrist coming home from Ed's house at dusk, or the time she lost her favorite bracelet, or when she tripped over the curb and sprained her ankle, or just the overwhelming sense of dread she got from the lack of sun, night didn't seem to want anything to do with her. She never felt right in the dark.

"I mean, no offense Connie. I just think I'll pass." August tried to seem nonchalant about it, but anxiety crept into her voice.

"Look, the summer starts next week. Let's celebrate by going all out and doing a kick ass night run! I guarantee it will be awesome!" Connie seemed so enthusiastic that it made Ed and August think twice.

"Yeah… I mean… well it's not like we do this a lot." Ed thought out loud through chips. August mulled it over in her head. She prided herself in being the best free runner she knew, and she was always looking for new places to try out new tricks. Also, it wasn't like she wasn't unsafe. She never missed a beat or a step if she could help it; her aim was always dead on, and timing perfect. So what if it was night, what's the worst that could happen? August looked at the porch, making sure her mother couldn't over hear the plan.

"You have to promise me that we'll stick together no matter what." August almost whispered, looking across the table at Connie. She knew that if she didn't make Connie promise, Connie would take off without them. She was the fastest of the group, but not the most precise. One false move and August would be dragging Connie to the hospital.

"I promise that I will stick by you guys no matter what. Trust me." Connie said as she reached her hand across the table. Ed and August put their hands in. They were in for one hell of a ride.

August was visibly nervous about sneaking out at night. She had done it once, and hated it. The anxiety of her mom finding out, as well as being out in the dark without the light to guide her steps made her uneasy. She put on her custom running shoes with the grind plate in the middle, as well as her favorite pair of cargos, and her best and darkest hoodie. She taped down the hoodie and pants to lessen the resistance, and put her phone and wallet with her ID in her pockets. The last thing to grab was another gift from her father, whom she had never met. It was a switchblade; the blade was made of some sort of glowing bronze, and the housing it was in said "Helios" on the side in golden Greek lettering, which August knew was the personification of the sun in Greek. August had a lot of weird powers she couldn't explain, and being able to read and speak Greek fluently despite not being able to read any other language because of dyslexia was one of them. She remembered that she had once asked her mother about it.

"Your father left you many things, love. That may be one of them." Was the reply August got. She didn't understand what her mother meant by that, but asked nothing more.

August opened her window a silently as possible, and jumped out. She wished her headlamp wasn't out of batteries as she started running towards the construction. The wind in her hair and the ground beneath her feet would have normally comforted her, but tonight they seemed like hands trying to drag her back home. She ran as fast as she could, trying to outrun something that just wasn't there. Just as she reached the site, she heard a voice behind her.

"Glad you could make it. Have you seen Connie?" August almost jumped out of her skin before she realized it was just Ed. Ed was wearing taped down sweats, tennis shoes, and a hoodie, but still wore the Rasta hat. August would have giggled at the contradiction if she wasn't so anxious.

"No, I haven't." August replied, voice shaking with anxiety. No sooner had she said that, Connie jumped down from a tree in front of August and Ed.

"Looky what we have here! You guys read to get started? These houses are all opened up, so jumping form one to another shouldn't be hard. Let's start at this one, and run the circuit, then we can call it a night." Normally, Connie wasn't the one to lead their paths, but August was in no mood to argue and went with what Connie said.

The run started off well. The three of them acted like monkeys as they climbed around and over support beams and exposed wood, jumped over gaps, leapt through window frames, and slid down rails. Truth be told, August was having a wonderful time despite the dark, and she started to think that this might have been a great plan on Connie's part. But as they progressed around the houses, she noticed that each house was getting more and more finished looking.

"Guys, I think we need to call it a night. I don't want to damage any property, and these next few houses look pretty finished." August said as they stopped in one house to catch their breaths.

"One more and we call it a night I promise." Connie pleaded. August and Ed nodded. Later on, August would beat herself up at this decision, not knowing why she listened to her. The trio climbed and jumped to the top of the house current house. When they reached the top level where Connie and Ed jumped through open windows of the house next to it, and landed perfectly inside. August wasn't so lucky. The second she jumped for the window in between the ones he two her friends went through, she saw the glint. She came smashing through the glass at a high speed, with pieces cutting through her clothes and getting into her skin. The window also happened to be facing the stairs, so August had one monster of a tumble. Her world spun as she went head over heels down newly polished wood, her body in tremendous pain. When it all stopped, she felt the pain. The glass penetrated deep into her abdomen and arms, and her leg screaming in pain. She looked down to see that her leg was in an odd shape, and then to her horror she realized it was broken.

"Oh shit… I'm so screwed." She said to herself, feeling the panic starting to set in. Then, one of her gifts started to take hold. Heat surged through her body, and she felt the glass start to push itself out, and the wounds heal. Her leg started to put itself back into place, and her bruises disappeared. August knew this would happen, it happened every time she injured herself. She couldn't explain why, and never told anyone about it out of fear of looking like a freak. The healing was a great thing to have at a time like this, if it wasn't for the aftermath of sheer exhaustion that followed after. After big heals, her body literally felt like it had used up all it's energy, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get back home in this state. After the pain had subsided, she focused her senses and heard the alarm. To add to her already bad luck, the house was so finished it even had the alarm system set. Now she was really screwed. More so yet, she saw through the downstairs window Connie running off. That really didn't fly well with her, but thankfully she heard Ed running down the stairs.

"Oh my God what happened?" Ed asked as he helped her to her feet.  
>"Wrong window." Was all she could reply as the police car pulled up.<br>"Freeze! We have the place surrounded! Please come out with your hands up!" The loud speaker voice said.  
>"Well, shit." Was all August could say as her world went black.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: This is August, welcome to her world. Prepare for an adventure with monsters, romance, and general weirdness as we follow her on a quest that could kick off a whole new adventure series. My other fic, <strong>Annabeth Chase Vs. the Internet<strong> is kind of the side companion to this, as you'll see in some later chapters of that fiction, but you don't have to read that to get this fic, and you don't have to read this fic to get that one. This is some of my heaviest work of fan fic yet, so buckle up!


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: I Fought the Law and the Law Won**

The four days after her arrest, August was in complete hell. Her mother was angry with her for sneaking out more than she was for damaging property, and even madder that her only child would probably be taken away for the summer for stupid behavior. The owners of the house pressed charges, and made August pay for the window with some of her college fund. She hadn't heard from Connie since, and Ed said he was in the same situation as she was. She hadn't seen him for days either, only hearing from him via snuck phone calls. August was told that she would be charged in a court of law, which made her life all that much more miserable.

The day of the court hearing was rainy and dreary as she and her mother pulled up to the court house. August had been forced to wear a nice skirt and a dress shirt for the occasion, something she was not fond of at all. This was also the day she would meet the lawyer her mother had hired for the first time. Again, not something August was looking forward too. In short, August was in complete hell.

"Well, this is it." Joyce said, parking the car. As they walked inside, August felt completely out of place. The inside of the courthouse was paved with pristine and white marble, with old artwork and gold finishes and trims. It reminded her of some sort of museum.

"You ready to face the music kiddo?" Her mother asked her as they made her way to the office where they would meet with Ms. Townshend, their lawyer.

"As I'll ever be. Man, I can't believe I was so stupid." August replied, kicking herself over this whole ordeal.

"Well next time you'll make the smarter choices. Let this be one of those life lessons where you learn from your mistakes. Oh, here we are." Joyce chided as she stopped at a plain wooden door and knocked.

"The door is unlocked, please come in." The voice on the other side commanded. As she entered the door, what August saw next made her freeze up. Their "lawyer" was far from an ordinary woman. Everything about her was human enough, but something didn't feel normal to August. She was tall and fare with her jet-black hair tied into a neat bun, and her angular face looking directly at August as if to say "I know what you did, but I'm not giving up on you." All of those features looked very regal, but normal enough. What really struck August were the woman's eyes. They were perpetually moving storm clouds of gray, flashing dangerously. Something about her was so powerful and so regal that she just didn't seem real.

"You must be August. My name is Ms. Townshend. I am your defense attorney." The woman's voiced dripped with authority and knowledge as she extended her hand. August shook it, noticing how firm the handshake was.

"Thanks for doing this. I know this must suck for you to have to do, because I really don't have anything going for me here, but thanks for trying your best." August said, not really sure what else to say to Ms. Townshend.

"You're welcome. Now, take a seat and lets go over some options, shall we?" Ms. Townshend sat in the chair opposite of August and her mother on the other side of the large wooden desk. "Now, your offenses are pretty severe. Breaking and entering, destruction of property, as well as trespassing. There weren't a lot of options here besides two months of Juvenile hall, or Outdoor Rehabilitation camp in New York state. I personally would go for the latter." She explained as she read through the papers.

"What now? Outdoor rehab camp?" August asked with disbelief. She shook her head and continued, "That can't be a real thing. It sounds like an MTV show." August protested.

"Honey, it will probably be better than any sort of juvenile hall at this point." Her mother said trying to coax her daughter into it.

"Your mother is right. This will be better than any type of jail time. If they ask which one you'd prefer, pick the camp. Trust me, you'll thank me later." At the last line, Ms. Townshend's eyes flashed again. August knew that it would be wise not to argue.

"Can I still bring my guitar?" August asked. It may have seemed like a dumb question, but music was the one thing that kept August sane during times of high stress.

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Ms. Townshend responded dismissively. She turned to Joyce to continue, "Now, lets get down to the paper work." She said while organizing the papers. It took an eternity for them to sort out and plan out the next steps in the process. When it was done, August, her mother, and Ms. Townshend were escorted to the main courtroom.

August was seated next to her mother and Ms. Townshend at the prosecuted stand, her heart pounding in her head.

"All rise for the Judge Christopher Kline." The bailiff demanded, the room rose as a man who looked more like a large, sweaty turkey entered the room and sat down. He wasn't threatening looking at all, but he did look about five minutes away from a heart attack.

The first part of the trial was mostly about how August didn't mean to break into the house, or break the window, or cause the alarm to go off. Ms. Townshend was doing an excellent job of convincing the court that August was just a dumb kid with dumb ideas, and not some criminal who liked breaking into houses. The whole case went on for a good hour and a half before the judge looked at August with his beady eyes and asked her a question.

"Augustine Donner Beakon. That is your name isn't it?" The judge said to her with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yes, it is." August didn't argue with him for using her full name, lest she wanted to land herself in even more trouble.

"If given the choice between Juvenile hall and wilderness rehabilitation camp, what would you chose?" The judge looked at her with great scrutiny.

"I would pick the camp over juvie." She responded, she looked at her mother and Ms. Townshend, who both looked at her and silently agreed.

"Then it is settled. You will attend the camp for two and a half months, or until your behavior is fixed. Court dismissed." As the judge finished, August didn't feel any sort of relief.

After the trial, August and the other two women walked outside into the bleak, overcast skies. The silence threatened to drive August mad, and the only answer to that was to break it.

"That's what we wanted… right?" August looked over at Ms. Townshend for confirmation on her decision, still not feeling very lucky. Ms. Townshend's expression changed from her typical stoic front to one that was slightly softer.

"Yes it is, you did a good job today. Now then, you will have four days to pack. I will see you at the end of the week to escort you to the airport." She shook hands with August and her mother as a cab pulled up. Ms. Townshend ducked inside, and drove off into the busy streets.

The next four days of packing and preparing were somber and silent between August and her mother. They talked about various things that she would do at camp like hike and swim, and her mother told her not to worry or get scared. August tried to be brave for her mother's sake, but her emotions weren't doing a great job of holding up. She was constantly angry, leading to more and more fights between her and her mother as the days dragged on. Also, Ms. Townshend was still in the back of her head, her grey eyes constantly judging her. August knew that she was someone who held more importance than she was letting on. As the days ticked by, she almost felt like running away, far away. But how long until they found her and brought her back for an even worse sentence? August's only option was camp.

On the last day, August's curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to ask her mother about Ms. Townshend over dinner. She knew that something was up, and she didn't know if her mother knew or not.

"Hey mom, who is Ms. Townshend and how do you know her?" She asked looking up from her plate of spaghetti. Her mother studied her for a second before answering.

"She called me from a law firm that works closely with Universal. She told me she had heard about your case through the grape vine at work, and wanted to take it. She seemed to know what she was talking about in terms of law, so I gave her a shot." Her mother went back to her pasta, but August felt that answer made no sense. Even she knew that lawyers for record studios rarely took on civilian cases.

"Did you notice anything interesting about her?" She asked, trying to get as much information as possible. Joyce gave her a strait look and put down her fork. As she looked August in the eye, she let out a sad sigh.

"August, remember what I always used to tell you? That there are things in this world bigger than us, things we can't explain? Remember when I used to tell you that there was always someone looking out for you?" August nodded, not sure where this was going. "Well, this is one of those times where I can't explain to you what's happening, but you must trust me when I say that everything will be ok." Her mother paused as if something was bothering her. "You may meet your father." The words hit August like a freight train. Now nothing made any sense.

"My father? The Swedish musician that got deported before I was born? What does he have to do with this?" August asked, more confused than ever.

"Your father is a great man, August. You have to trust me when I say he is more than you think." Her mother was not in her usual laid back state. Her face was stern and sad, but hopeful.

"Mom, what are you talking about? This is total bullshit!" It was not like her to snap, but August was more confused than ever now. She stood up and walked over to the back doors, looking out into the setting sun, letting her angry subside. All her life, her mother had told her that her father was a Swedish musician who she was trying to help break through. They had had a summer fling that ended when he let his VISA run out and moved back to Sweden. August's birth was a product of a whirlwind romance, or so she thought. Now she was being told that he was some sort of great man who she might meet, which only furthered her confusion.

"August, trust me. Things will all be explained, but I can't do that right now. Tomorrow, it will all be explained." With that, her mother cleared the table and sent her to bed.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Real Me**

The next morning came early and to a sad tone. August got up, put on her favorite pair of jeans, a new t-shirt her mom had bought her with a lion on it (for courage her mother told her), and her favorite pair of converse. She packed her Martin acoustic into its velvet lined travel case, and made sure she packed Helios safely in a wrapped shirt in her duffle. After making sure she had everything she needed, she headed towards the living room. Seeing her mother sitting on the couch with eyes red from crying almost made her lose all composure.

"Alright love, it's time for us to say goodbye. Be good, listen to instructions, and stay safe. I want you home in one piece. And don't eat a bunch of crap, that's not going to help you in the long run. And remember one thing," August cut her mom off to finish the line.

"Always keep a song in your head incase life gets you down." She said through falling tears. It was their thing they always said to each other, and saying it instantly made August feel better about leaving.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." She looked outside the front door window just in time to see the black limo pulled up. She and her mother said their final goodbyes and hugged. Then, feeling like she was walking down death row, she walked outside with her things in hand, and the driver opened the trunk to put August's stuff inside. Once August rearranged the duffle and the guitar to fit properly, she got into the back where Ms. Townshend and to her surprise, Ed, were sitting.

"August, take a seat." Ms. Townshend said as she raised the divider between the driver and the back seat. August did what she was told, just like her mother said. Ms. Townshend studied August and continued, "We need to explain some things to you." The limo pulled out of the driveway, and August knew she was trapped.

"We? What does Ed have to do with this?" August asked, perplexed. She turned towards Ed, who proceeded to take his Rasta hat off, making August's head spin. Underneath his hat, peaking out from his dreads were two, small curly goat horns. August's eyes went big, her breath caught, and her mind froze and glitched like a scratched video game. Seeing the horns was like being an episode of The Twilight Zone, and yet she wondered why she hadn't freaked out more than she did. Something in the back of her head just knew that this was normal.

"August, I need to come clean to you. I'm a satyr. Do you remember what that is from mythology class?" Ed asked, his usually laid back tone gone from his speech. He was right, August had read about satyrs in her mythology class, which had always been one of her favorite classes. She tried to regain composure and speak clearly, despite the fact she felt like she had just stepped into bizarro world. She took a deep breath.

"You guys are guardians of heroes right? Like in Greek mythology, you guys worked hand and hand with demi-gods and stuff." August responded.

"So you know some mythology then?" Ms. Townshend asked.

"Yeah, mythology was one of my best classes last year. I thought it was pretty cool." She was still in shock that her best friend was a goat man, but she managed to come back to reality enough to remember her mythology.

"Can you name all the Gods and what they do?" Ms. Townshend continued. August nodded and tried to think back to the Greek unit. She struggled to keep herself from hyperventilating while talking.

"Ok, so there's Zues. He's the god of the sky and Olympus, so he's like the head hauncho. And then his brother, Poseidon, claimed the land and sea, which I personally feel was the better deal but whatever." August saw Ms. Townshend roll her eyes when she heard the name of the sea lord. August continued. "There's also Hades, god of the underworld, but he doesn't live in Olympus and doesn't really count as part of the main twelve. There's Demeter and Dionysus. Demeter does the harvest and Dionysus has wine right?" Ms. Townshend nodded. August took a second to compose herself, and continued. "And then we have Hera, Zues's wife. She is goddess of family, which can't happen without love, which is Aphrodite's thing. We have the two battle Gods, Ares and Athena. Ares is the God of war and fighting, and Athena is the Goddess of battle and wisdom. She seems like the nicer of the two." Ms. Townshend smiled slightly as August continued. "Hephaestus is the God of metal work and blacksmith, and Hermes is the God of thieves and messengers. The last two are the twins. Artemis is the virgin goddess of the hunt and moon, and Apollo is a mix of music, poetry, sun, healing, and prophecy." August took a deep breath and exhailed, trying to make sure she wasn't forgetting anyone. "I always liked Apollo, I think we'd get along." August finished, leaning back into the leather seat.

"Very good. It seems you've been paying attention in class." Ms. Townsend complimented as she studied August for a second. The grey eyes didn't help any of August's anxiety. As she felt herself starting to lose composure, she couldn't stop the wave of word vomit that came out of her mouth.

"I'm so confused right now." August said shaking her head, "What's going on? Why do you want to know if I know about Greek mythology? Where am I going?" August's panic started to escalate. It hit her that her best friend for the past three years was a mythological satyr, and that Ms. Townshend was probably some sort of mythological creature too, and that she was probably going to be killed. Nothing made sense anymore, and she wondered if she was having a terrible dream. She knew this wasn't the case, because she always woke up right after the weird part, and yet she was still here.

"August," Ms. Townshend put a hand on August's leg, trying to calm her down, "Look at your friend here." Ms. Townshend gestured over to Ed. "He's something you didn't even expect to exist, and yet here he is sitting next to me. You're going to be experiencing a lot of that from now on because of what you are."

"And what pray tell is that?" August demanded, flinching away. Even with the growing anxiety, her poetic speech tic managed to slip through. Ms. Townshend remained cool at the outburst as she folded her hands back into her lap.

"You know how your teacher told you that Greek mythology wasn't real, and just stories made up to explain natural occurrences? That's a lie." Ed said as he finished up the coke he was drinking and proceeded to eat the can. August's stomach did a back flip.

"What." August wasn't sure she was hearing things right.

"The place you're going is for kids just like you who have divine lineage. It's a camp that is specially built to train and protect others like you from the enemies that would want to hurt them. It's called Camp Half-Blood." Ms. Townshend said looking deeply at August.

Too many things started to run through August's mind. The first thing was that this had to be some sort of elaborate prank set up by Connie, but that proved to be too far out there even despite everything that was going on. The second thought was that if all of this was real, what did Ms. Townshend mean by divine lineage? What kinds of kids were at this camp? What did she mean by creatures that would try to hurt her, and what kind of creature was Ms. Townshend? August started to piece together things bit by bit.

"Give me a second to calm down here. I need to clear my head." Ms. Townshend nodded and handed August a bottle of water, which she gladly took. As she sipped it, she started to piece things together in her head. If all Greek myths were real, that meant the gods were too right? She knew that some of the gods had kids with mortals, which would definitely mean divine lineage. If that's the case, was her father one of those gods? And more importantly, how did Ms. Townshend know of these things?

"Are you starting to feel better?" Ed asked, making sure his friend was ok. August still pale and shaking, but she did feel better. As she thought through the myths, another piece fell into place; Ms. Townshend looked a lot like a picture she had seen in her mythology book at school. The woman in the picture in her book had long black hair, stormy eyes, and was fair skinned. She was incredibly smart, good at defense strategy, and dripped authority. August didn't want to believe what she had just figured out, but something inside her told her that she was right.

"Athena? That's… that's your real name isn't it?" August suddenly felt incredibly relieved for reasons she didn't get. If this lady was a god, shouldn't she be terrified? But August wasn't scared anymore. She knew that Athena was an incredibly powerful goddess, and if she had helped August this far along, then Athena was obviously on her side. It made her a lot less scary, but a lot more intimidating. A small smile made it's way onto the woman's face.

"Now you see the real me." The goddess said. A small flash of light resulted in the same exact woman in her textbook being teleported to the seat in front of August. Athena was no longer in a starchy business suit, but more of a free flowing Greek toga. Her hair, which was once in a tight bun, was now set in a curly, loose style, tied back by what looked like a leather band.

"I've got a pretty big hunch that you're not my divine lineage." August said with light sarcasm, looking at the goddess in a new light.

"No, I am not." Athena responded, still with a small smile. She waited for August to ask the question they both knew was the pink elephant in the room.

"Who is my father, and why did you help me?" The question was direct and deliberate. August needed and answer before they got to the airport as she wasn't about to wait five plus hours to find out about all this weirdness.

"Your father will make himself known to you very soon. After you got yourself into trouble, he saw this as an opportunity to get you to the camp without making a big scene. I helped you as a favor to him knowing that you will soon repay the favor. He couldn't have impersonated a lawyer and fooled a judge nearly as well as I could. Yes, he could have just used the mist to cover up the whole legal case and just have Ed take you to the camp, but rewriting bigger incidences is a lot more work in the long run than subtly swaying someone's opinion one way or another." Athena answered.

"What's the mist?" August interrupted. She thought it might have something to do with why creatures like Ed could just walk amongst humans.

"It's kind of like the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. People only look for what they're expecting to see. The mist helps cover up the oddities of the world by making them look normal. Unless someone was deliberately looking for something odd, no one would ever know that I wasn't human." Ed explained.

"So if there is a weird mythic creature running around like a Pegasus, people would see it as a horse?" August tried to make sense of it in her head, and then remembered she was talking to someone who was half goat and a woman who lived in the clouds.

"Essentially." Athena answered. She continued as if August hadn't asked a question. "Your father and I are under a pact at the moment. He can see the future, and has warned me that Hyperion, a titan of light once thought to be subdued, may be stirring in attempt to take back his original power." Athena's face went stolid, as if she knew this was bad. August didn't understand why this was such a big deal though. In the Titan myths, Hyperion barely mattered, and had almost no impact on the Titans and their doings what so ever.

"Hang on, why would he want to come back? The big guys have all been replaced, and it's not like Hyperion was that big of a deal to begin with. I mean, the guy was a light being who held virtually no value within Titan mythology. What harm can a guy in charge of light do besides make everything really dark?" August didn't see why the gods couldn't just take care of this themselves, seeing as how they had done it thousands of years before. Athena studied August carefully before asking her a question.

"What happens to you when the sun goes down?" Her stormy eyes moved dangerously in the shadows of the limo, letting August know that Athena had her number.

"Really bad stuff." August answered, slightly embarrassed. How did Athena know about her weakness to darkness?

"What would happen to all the mortals if the light just went away? How would they grow crops? How much more power would they have to use just to see and function? When would that power run out?" Athena's questions made August feel more and more tense as she asked them. She leaned closer to August, letting her grey eyes bore into August's. "Humans aren't meant to live without light, August. Though it may not seem like the most important thing in the world, it's actually vital to human survival. If Hyperion decides to take over, it could be the end to the world that you know." Athena sat back and relaxed a bit. "That, and he's also a very militant leader and has already started gathering troops. Regardless of divine power, the Titan knows how to raise an army." She offhandedly mentioned, like an army of monsters wasn't a huge deal. August started to feel sick again.

"So what do I have to do with any of this?" August didn't see how she could help with a problem this big. Athena avoided the question as she continued.

"In time you will see how you come into this, however we've just arrived at the airport. When you get to camp, my eldest daughter Annabeth, and the son of Poseidon, Percy will greet you there. They will show you around and get you acclimated to camp life. She can teach you about Greek culture and mythology, and he will teach you how to fight and defend yourself. You will find many allies there, including him." Athena pointed towards Ed. Ed leaned forward and made sure August was looking at him.

"August, I'm your guardian until you no longer need me. You can count on me to always be there for you when you need back up." He smiled and nodded. August met Ed three years ago in 6th grade, and they hit if off right away. He was always her right hand man no matter what. It didn't come as a surprise that he would be just as loyal to her now.

"So… will I find out who my dad is at camp and what I need to do in order to repay the favor?" August asked as they pulled up to curb side checking.

"Yes. Now, off you go, but one more thing. You'll meet another daughter of mine who will become a valuable member of your social circle. I'd advise you to become friends with her. You'll need her in the long run. Good luck, Augustine." With that, the door opened. Ed and August stepped out, the driver having already checked their bags and gotten their boarding passes. As Ed and August made their way inside, August turned around to wave goodbye, only to realize the Limo had disappeared.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: A Whole New World**

The flight to New York was uneventful and quiet. August never disliked flying, and always found that it passed by relatively quickly. However, the flight was the last time August would see normality for a while. When they landed, August shocked to see a man covered in eyes there to pick them up. August had to act like this was totally normal, though he unnerved her greatly.

"This is Argus, he's the camp security and driver." Ed said as Argus waved. August waved back, and imagined it would be very painful to be covered in eyes. She also didn't know which one to stare at, making the entire meeting very awkward. As the began their drive to camp, it surprised August how lush and wooded New York state actually was. She had been to Manhattan several times in her life, but never the backwoods area. It was certainly beautiful, though August could care less about that. There were no buildings, streets, or parks to free run, and nothing to do. Even so, if this was hell, at least the air was clean.

"And we're here!" Ed said as the car came to a stop.

"You're kidding me. We're in the middle of east Jesus nowhere, dude." August said as she looked around and saw nothing but a hill with a tree on top.

"Ah, it's what's over the hill that's important." Ed said as he unloaded the trunk. In no time, August, Argus, and Ed were hiking up the hill to the camp.

"Well, at least it's better than jouvie." She thought to herself as she lugged her duffle bag and guitar case up the hill. As they approached the tree, August noticed an interesting creature huddled underneath it, and a large pelt of golden wool pinned to the trunk. The creature stirred as the trio got closer, and August realized it was a small dragon.

"He guards the golden fleece, which gives the camp its healthy glow and energy." Ed explained. August did her best to not disturb the dragon as they made their way down the hill. August noticed they had walked through a barrier of some sort when a golden aura formed around her for a split second, and her whole body tingled like she had shocked herself with wool socks.

"That's the barrier that makes sure mortals can't get in. If they hit it, they get transported several hundred feet away and think that nothing weird just happened. Only demigods, mortals with permission and other immortals can pass through." Ed explained when he noticed August looking confused after she had passed through.

As they proceeded, a large sign with Greek lettering came into view reading "CAMP HALF-BLOOD." The path way underneath it lead to about twenty different cabins, which all looked like they were dedicated to a certain god or goddess, a large field area, and a big house like cabin. Underneath the sign stood three figures. The first was a large centaur with a camp uniform polo on his upper half, the rest of him a large dark brown horse body. The second was a tall, lean teenage guy with shaggy black hair who was talking to the third figure, an equally tall, tan, blonde wavy haired girl. As August approached, she was greeted first by the centaur.

"Augustine is it? Welcome to camp half-blood, home of heroes! My name is Chiron, and I am the head director here. My usual cohort, Dionysus, is currently on business in Olympus and will be back as soon as possible." August looked up at him in awe as he spoke. She had never seen anything like him.

"It's very nice to meet you." She shook his extended hand. "If you don't mind, sir, I prefer August." She felt like she had just committed a crime by correcting him.

"August it is then. Let me introduce to you are two head campers. This young man," He said as he placed a hand on the dark haired boys shoulder "is Percy. And this lady is Annabeth." He pointed at the blonde girl.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you, August." Annabeth said as she extended her hand. As August shook it, she noticed that Annabeth had Athena's eyes.

"Your mother was my defense attorney." August said realizing that this was the daughter Athena had told her about. Annabeth chuckled.

"Yes, she left me a note telling me part of the situation. I hope she did a good job." Annabeth said.

"Well, she got me out of a juvie sentence and sent me here. That seems pretty cool to me." August said, and turned towards Percy. "It's Percy right?"

"Yup. Good to meet you. Do you have any clue who you belong to?" He asked. August realized he was the son of Poseidon by the sea green eyes, and that he was talking about her divine parent.

"I know it's not Athena. Other than that, not really." August admitted.

"I'll take these to the big house while you guys give her the tour. I'll meet you guys back their after your done." Ed said as he picked up August's stuff and headed towards the large cabin at the entrance of camp.

"Is that a guitar?" Percy asked as he watched Ed whisk the stuff away.

"Oh, yeah. My mom is a music producer, so I've been playing since I was like seven." August said as they continued to walk.

"Keep thinking of things you're good at. It will probably help in figuring out who your parent is. Right now, let's show you around." Annabeth said as they continued to walk.

The camp was a haven for heroes. Annabeth had pointed out each cabin, each with their own designs and decorations representing their divine parent. Athena's cabin had owls and was made of carved marble and bronze; Aphrodite was pure pink with cherubs; Ares' was (badly) painted a bright red with barbed wire on the roof and a stuffed boar's head on the doorway, and Poseidon's looked like a beach bungalow. What struck her most was Apollo's cabin. It was white and plain, until the sun hit it. Then, it shown like pure gold, which made August feel good just staring at it. After the cabins Percy showed her the armory, battlefield, and stables. August was fascinated with the chariots and the Pegasus horses, and Annabeth promised to show her the ropes later. They walked to the main dining area, and Percy explained the food sacrificing. After the tour, they walked back to the big house and sat down at the large wooden table where Ed was already waiting for them.

"So August, tell us your story." Annabeth said as she sat across from August at the table.

"Well, the whole thing starts off with me being stupid." August started. As she told her story, Percy, Annabeth and Chiron said nothing, but looked very interested. August assumed that most demigods had interesting stories by the way they reacted, as if the whole thing was perfectly normal. After August finished, Annabeth was again the first to speak.

"So you're good at acrobatics then?" Annabeth said more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah, I've always been good with doing flips and such." August replied.

"What else are you good at? Do you have any sort of unusual powers or abilities that you can't explain?" Percy asked, studying her as if to try and read who she belonged to.

"Well, I can read and speak Greek."

"That's natural for all half bloods. I'm betting you have dyslexia and ADHD?" Chiron said. August nodded, wondering how he knew. "The dyslexia comes from the fact that you aren't programmed to read anything but Greek, and the ADHD is battle reflexes. They'll come in handy as you learn to use them." Chiron finished and gestured for her to continue.

"I'm very good at poetry and music. They were my two best classes besides mythology." She bit her lip ring debating on how to tell her new cohorts about the next part. "Annabeth, is that a knife?" August asked, noticing the sheath tapping against the table.

"Yes. Why?" Annabeth asked with a pondering look.

"May I see it for two seconds?" Annabeth looked at August like she was crazy, and then with great skepticism handed the knife over. August took the blade in her hand, and looked at everyone at the table who were all waiting for her to do something. Then, in a move of sheer impulsiveness, August slashed the blade deep and hard across her wrist.

"Oh my gods what did you do that for?" Annabeth said, her voice panicked. She was about to jump out of her chair when August motioned for her to sit down and look. Her wrist healed itself up like nothing had ever happened. August felt light headed, but it quickly subsided.

"Which god can do that?" she asked the table. They were all busy staring at her in stunned awe. Percy was the first one to speak.

"See for yourself. Look up." Percy pointed above her head to a glowing gold symbol. It was in the shape of a lyre, and it glowed for a few seconds more before disappearing.

"So my dad is…" She trailed off as she processed what she just saw.

"Apollo, The sun God. Get your stuff and I'll take you over to cabin 7 to meet the head councilor and your older brother, Will." Annabeth said as she recovered from watching August slit her own wrist in front of her.

"I have a brother?" August was a little surprised at this news.

"No, you have four as well as two sisters, which makes you number 7 in cabin 7. That's got to be a good luck omen. Don't worry, I'm positive you'll all get along just fine." Annabeth said as she helped August with her bags.

As they walked to the cabin, August took the opportunity and asked about Athena's relationship to Apollo, hoping to get some answers.

"My mother and your father don't really interact much to be honest. It's not a rivalry like her and Poseidon, but it's not like they're buddies or anything. He's usually off traveling with the sun, and she's usually butting heads with Ares over current wars and strategies. Though, I can see that she would do him a favor now and then, seeing as how they're technically half siblings on their father's side." Annabeth mused as they approached the 7th cabin. Annabeth knocked on the door and a young man about eighteen years old with shaggy sandy blonde hair, a soul patch, and a bow strung across his back opened the door.

"Will, this is August, you're newest camper. August, this is Will. He helped save my life once, and he's a really cool guy. I think you'll get along with him just fine." Annabeth said as she stepped to the side to let August and Will speak.

"Whoa, you look like me." Was all August could say as she stared at the guy in front of her who shared the same eyes, hair, and outdoorsy looks.

"Yup I sure do. Is that a Martin in that case?" He asked as he looked at the guitar case she was holding.

"Yup, it sure is." She responded with a smile.

"Awesome. Well Annabeth, you can have her back later when we're done making her bunk super awesome and introducing her to her new family!" Will turned back to August. "As for you, get your butt in there and make yourself at home!" For the first time in a week, August was truly and honestly happy.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here **

"So this is Kayla, that's Austin, over there is Sandy, and we have Paul, and over by the guitars is Jimmy. And then there is me, Will! And you, August!" Will introduced August to her new family of sandy haired, blue eyed children. Their bunks were all decorated with pictures of musicians, verses of poetry, and one side of the cabin was dedicated to guitars and other various stringed instruments. There was a very large medical cabinet in the back as well.

"Can I have that bunk? August asked pointing at a top bunk that was over her sister Sandy's bunk, which Sandy was using to hang beaded curtains so her bunk looked liked something from a 70's movie.

"Let's ask Sandy. SANDY!" Will yelled. Sandy looked to be about sixteen. Her hair was long with streaks of pink and black, and her left nostril was pierced. She looked up from her Emily Dickenson and took her earbuds out.

"Yeah Will?"

"This is August, she wants that top bunk. Can August have aforementioned top bunk?" Will asked in a poetic free verse manor.

"Yeah totally. Alright, another female in the house! C'mon kid lets get you settled in." Sandy said as she helped August with the duffle bag. In about twenty minutes, August was unpacked, had explained her story, and had already made a few inside jokes with her new siblings, one of which pertained to Paul being a walrus and Kayla not understanding how magnets worked. It was awesome to know that all of them were into poetry and music as well. Then, there was a knock on the door, and Paul opened it up to Annabeth and Percy.

"Hey August, it's time for you to meet some new people, one of which is going to help me with your Greek Assimilation classes and the other is going to help Percy teach you how to fight. Follow me." Annabeth said as she led August out of the cabin. August said later to her cabin and followed Annabeth and Percy out the door.

"Is that where you teach me about mythology and proper cultural stuff?" August asked.

"Exactly. There is one problem, however." Percy said as they made there way towards Athena's cabin.

"What's that?" August didn't want more problems to arise on her first day.

"Last summer, I discovered a Roman equivalent to Camp Half-Blood called Camp Jupiter. With the two of us being the heads of this camp, we've been making trips back and forth as well as bringing the heads of the other camp here in a large scale combination effort to bring the two camps together. It's been going very well, but Annabeth and I have been very busy. We're gone Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and we work with Roman campers here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This will probably continue until the end of the month when we get the underground portals set up and all of the treaties and such signed, so I won't be the one teaching you how to fight, and Annabeth won't be the one teaching about the culture until then." He answered. August liked Annabeth and Percy, and was very disheartened to hear the neither one of them would be around much to teach her personally until the end of the month.

"So, who gets the job then?" She asked just as they approached the porch of Athena's cabin. On the porch, August noticed two new figures.

"August, this is the head of Ares' cabin, Clarisse." Annabeth pointed at the older, very tall, buff, menacing looking girl leaning against the railing. "She'll be teaching you your fighting classes." Clarisse sized up August for a second, and the looked at her face. August knew from experience that she was probably staring at her piercings.

"The hell happened? You get into a fight with a shrapnel gun?" Clarisse remarked with a half disgusted look. August wasn't taking that sitting down.

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? 'Cause your face is all fucked up." August wondered if that was a good idea when she saw Annabeth and Percy go pail in her peripherals. To her relief, Clarisse laughed and shook August's hand.

"Hell I like you. I think we're going to get along just fine." Clarisse smiled and August smiled back. Annabeth directed August's attention away from Clarisse and continued.

"And this is my sister, Ariadne." August turned to her left to see a girl about her age leaning against side of the cabin turning a rubix cube in her hands. She was slightly taller than August, thin, with very fair skin and dark brown hair that was loosely curly and fell past her shoulders down to about mid back. She looked up at August with the same eyes that stared at her in the limo and that Annabeth had as well. Annabeth continued "She'll be teaching you about language and culture."

"Is August short for something?" Ariadne asked. August was almost too busy staring at her to respond right away. Ariadne looked about as human as Athena did, which is to say not much at all. She was very pristine and angular, like most of the other kids of Athena, but she had this proud and fierce aura that intimidated August more than Clarisse ever could. August thankfully caught herself before the pause could be thought of as awkward.

"Uh yeah it's short for Augustine." She responded. "You're named after the wife of Dionysus right?"

"Not bad. I may be underestimating you." August wasn't sure if she liked Ariadne or not, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"So, can I shorten it to Arry or are you a full name kind of person?" August asked.

"Arry is fine, most of the other campers call me that anyways. I'll see you tomorrow mid day for your first lesson, but dinner is about to start so you better get your schedule and head back to your cabin. Until then." Ariadne said as she turned around to go back inside. Clarisse said her goodbyes and told August to find a decent weapon for tomorrow.

"This is your schedule for the rest of the month. If you have any questions, either me, Annabeth, or practically any of the head councilors will be around. Your schedule has their names and respective cabins." Percy pointed out the list of names and then pointed to first, third, and sixth period. "These are the only three that remain the same throughout the week. The other three change up depending on the day." The three classes that remained the same were weaponry and hand to hand combat, Greek assimilation with Ariadne, and archery. The rest of the schedule changed around from day to day. Some days she had swimming, others had Pegasus riding, and some had arts and crafts as well as music.

"I get Saturdays and Sundays free?" August asked as she noticed her schedule had those two days marked blank.

"Technically yes. Saturday is a free day to do whatever you want, but Sunday is traditionally chore day. You send laundry out, change sheets, and send letters home, all that kind of stuff. At the end of Sunday, that's the time of prayer where you give thanks to your divine parent, as well as any other God that may have helped you during the week." Percy explained, pointing to the goblets in front of the cabins. August liked that she got the weekends mostly off. She still had one more question.

"Today is Sunday, does that mean that tonight is the time of prayer?"

"Yes. Not only would I thank your father, I shoot Athena a thank you as well." Annabeth recommended.

"That's what I was planning on." Just then, the horn blew for dinner. "All right! Food, I'm starved!" Percy and Annabeth wished her luck, as August met up with her cabin and proceeded to the dining area.

The dining area was an outdoor picnic area surrounded by only four columns and no walls or ceiling. The tables were all set with huge amounts of barbequed meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, and bread. She noticed that everyone sat at his or her respective cabin's tables. Annabeth sat at the head of Athena's table with her brother Malcolm on the opposite side, Will sat at the head of August's table, a beautiful but tough looking girl named Piper sat with her stupidly pretty siblings at Aphrodite's, and the pattern continued. As August sat down, Will turned to her.

"See the big fire pit over there? That's where we make a sacrifice every night to our father. Just take the best piece of meat, and throw it in with a blessing. Here, follow me." Will lead August as his cabin over to the fire, and proceeded to throw a big rib in. "For Apollo who keeps us healthy and awesome everyday." August followed and threw in a nice piece of tenderloin.

"For Apollo, for claiming me, keeping me safe, and giving me some awesome siblings to hang with." The meat burned up quickly, and left an amazing aroma.

"The gods like the smell, it makes their ambrosia and nectar that much better." Sandy explained. They made their way back to the table, and August took the opportunity to ask more questions.

"So Will, how does this prayer thing work exactly?" She asked in between bites of barbeque and figs.

"A good question 'o newbish one. You see, every Sunday each cabin sets their large fire goblets outside of the cabin. Then, you pick something to throw into the fire of whatever gods may have helped you the past week, and say a blessing as a thank you to them. It's different for campers what they throw in. Aphrodite's kids like to give hand woven flower crowns, Hephaestus's brood throws in carved pieces of metal, Percy uses seashells, Demeter's children usually use strawberry leaves and so forth. Our family tends to write short poems to the gods. Then, we fold them up and toss 'em in. You thirsty?" August was too busy listening to Will to notice that she was indeed very thirsty.

"Yeah actually. Are these cups enchanted or something?" August asked not seeing anything in her cup.

"Yup. Just say what you want and tap the glass. Anything at all, provided it's age appropriate." Will said and winked at her. August thought for a moment, and then remembered the one thing she loved drinking in the summer back in Cali.

"Mango coconut milk." The glass filled itself up with a translucent orange liquid. August took a large gulp, and smiled at the fact that it was exactly how she remembered it.

That night back at the cabin, August tapped her note book with her pen trying to think of a poem to write her dad and another for Athena. She was having a difficult time thinking of something, so she rolled over on her stomach and hung over her bed to ask Sandy for advice.

"I need inspiration or some sort of like, spark for my poetry. I can't write if I don't know what to write about." August complained. Sandy thought for a second, and then a light bulb appeared above her head.

"Try a haiku. They're short, poetic, and flow well." Sandy said as she wrote down her own poems.

"Why didn't I think of that?" August said as she rolled back onto her bed. She thought for a second, and then jotted down the first poem to Apollo.

I finally know

What was missing from my life

The sun shines on me

August looked at the poem and was happy with the results. She felt as though it got to the point of what she was trying to say without being too sappy or long winded.

"Ok, now Athena. What to say about Athena? Something that won't make me seem like an idiot that's for sure." She mumbled to herself.

"Relax August. Athena already thinks we're idiots." Paul joked from his bunk. August smiled, though she knew he was probably right. She thought for a second, then picked up her pen and wrote another poem down. The words came to her easily now that she had a format.

The storm stares at me

Lets me know that I'm needed

You can count on me

Satisfied with her poetry, she walked outside and dropped the first one labeled "Apollo" into the goblet of her own cabin, and said a blessing to him in the best Greek she could muster. She walked down the line of cabins, watching as campers walked to and fro from cabin to cabin, dropping blessings in. She reached Athena's cabin to see both Ariadne and Annabeth talking.

"I come bearing poetry and a blessing." August said as she approached the goblet.

"Did you write in haiku?" Annebeth asked from the porch.

"I take it that haiku is popular amongst my brethren at the moment." She said as she dropped the poem in, and then said a blessing.

"Your Greek is very good for someone who hasn't taken a lesson." Ariadne said, not looking up from her rubix cube.

"Comes naturally right?" She looked at Annabeth for confirmation.

"Yes, but sometimes it takes some lessons to get the verbs and such down right. You seem to speak it fluently though. Maybe you might be able to skip most of that subject in your lessons." Annabeth said as her stormy gray eyes flickered in the flames.

"Well, I better hit the hay. Got a big first day tomorrow. Have fun with the Romans." August said as she turned to go back to her cabin.

"Good night August." The sisters said in unison. August smiled to herself as she looked around at her new home.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Strangers Like Me**

The horn blew for a 7AM wake up call, much to August's annoyance. She rolled out of bed, and grabbed some clothes while doing her best to make her hair cooperate. She put on a pair of cargo shorts, a shirt Ed had bought her a while back with a dinosaur, and some running shoes. As she grabbed her schedule, she heard a knock on the door, and Will opened up to Percy standing the doorway.

"Shouldn't you be gone by now?" Asked August before Will had a chance to respond.

"Not until ten, I've still got some time to get you fitted for a weapon. Stop by the armory after breakfast, and I'll give you your first lesson in combat." He said. August was hadn't heard a lot about Percy, but when people talked about him, they spoke highly. August knew that he was important, and probably did important things for the camp. She was very excited to be given a lesson by someone with obvious power.

Breakfast went by without any sort of oddities, unless you count the entirety of Half-Blood as an oddity. August made her way to the armory and saw Percy standing there with a chest plate, shin plates, wrist guards, and a shiny new bow and quiver of arrows.

"These are a standard set for Apollo's kids, but some of his children chose to carry a melee weapon with them, like a dagger or knife. You can chose one if you want, or you can just chose to live with the bow and arrows." He said as he moved to let her examine the new weaponry. She liked the lyre symbol on the left side of the chest plate. It made her feel like she belonged to an important underground musician militia. As Percy taught her how to strap on her new armor, August remembered Helios.

"My father left me this, but it's merely a switchblade. I don't think it would be much good in battle unless we're reenacting West Side Story." She pulled out Helios and handed it to Percy. He turned it in his hands, examining it.

"Sometimes, things are way more than what they look like." He handed the blade back and pulled out a pen from his pocket. August had no idea where this was going until Percy uncapped it, and it morphed into a long, bronze sword. "This is my sword, Riptide. I have a feeling that you're blade may do the same thing if you try a different tactic with it. Try extending the blade, but this time expect something else to happen." August looked at Helios and took a deep breath. She pressed the switch to extend the blade, and it extended as a normal switch blade. At first she was discouraged, but then she took Percy's words to heart. If you expect something else to happen, it might.

"Hang on, let me try this again." She collapsed the blade, and pressed the switch to extend it again, but swung it like she was unsheathing a sword. This time, instead of the typical little blade, a foot and a half long dagger made out of bronze morphed out of the switch blade.

"Wow. I guess dad has some pretty good taste." She said with a smile. The bronze shown brightly, like it was made out of sunlight. "What's this metal anyways?" She asked, noticing that Percy's sword was made of the same thing.

"It's called Celestial Bronze. It can only hurt immortals and monsters because humans are apparently not important enough. Remember something though. You can be hurt with mortal and immortal weapons." Percy said as he watched August slash the air with her new dagger. "Alright, lets start with the first lesson."

Combat training went pretty smoothly for the rest of the period. Percy taught her the Greek way of slashing and dicing as opposed to the Roman way of stabbing and hacking. He taught her to block, as well as duck and retaliate. As they moved on to some sparring, Percy was impressed at her jumping and flipping as a form of evasive maneuvers.

"It's not everyday you see something like that." Percy said trying to catch his breath. He had spent most of his energy trying to get a decent hit, but August was too fast and too slippery. "You've got to teach me how to do that."

"I can try, but it's all about keeping up." She smiled and collapsed her dagger.

After Percy and Annabeth left for Jupiter, August moved to her next class on how to properly march into battle (which August seriously wanted to kill herself in, and so did her instructors who were tired of her moon walking into battle). After ditching the shield she had to use for that stupid class, it was onward to 3rd period. She looked at her watch and felt a small scale of panic hit her.

"I've got 5 minutes to get all the way across camp to Athena's cabin." August remarked to herself with frustration. She silently cursed Chiron and his poor planning. She hated being late, and something told her that Ariadne didn't like tardiness either. "Great. Well, only one thing to do at a time like this." She said to herself, examining the buildings in the area. August decided to do what she was best at; run. Her route was simple; jump onto the armory, jump across and on to the black smith shop, use the tree to swing over to the top of the first cabin, then jump her way down the line until she reached Athena's cabin where Ariadne was waiting for her. August focused herself, took a deep breath, and took off running. Over buildings, swinging on branches, flipping across rooftops, and souring over campers, she felt like a thunderbird flying through the skies. She landed in a typical runners position in front of Athena's cabin, and stood up to dust herself off.

"I was watching you run." The voice came from nowhere and almost made August jump out of her skin. She turned around to see Ariadne standing behind her with two smoothies. August didn't understand how Ariadne got there. She hadn't seen Ariadne anywhere near the cabins while she was running.

"Oh uh, yeah. I like to run, it's my thing." August said as she eyed the smoothie. Running had made her incredibly thirsty, and she wasn't too sure that Ariadne was just going to hand the smoothie over to her.

"You're very good. Did you teach yourself?" August nodded as she put her hands behind her head to take in more air. "Oh, this is for you. It's mango, I hope you don't mind."

"Thanks, yeah I pretty much figured out everything on my own. And not at all, they're my favorite. There's an awesome smoothie place near my house in Manhattan Beach Cali that makes really good mango smoothies." She gulped down a third of hers as she followed her student teacher onto the porch, her stomach tying itself into a knot. August had no idea why a skinny white girl in beige capris and an orange camp T-shirt was so intimidating to her, but something in the back of her head kept telling her to be on her best behavior. They reached the porch and sat at two chairs opposite each other at a small table with post card sized images of gods and various other creatures.

"Before we start with the lesson, let's start with some 'this or that'. It'll help me get to know you better." Ariadne said, her eyes focused on August, which made her almost, have to look away.

"Ok, sure." August said trying to play it cool.

"Hot dogs or hamburgers?"

"Burritos." August responded almost immediately. Ariadne gave her a slightly confused look and continued.

"Cats or dogs?"

"Cats."

"Day at the park or day at the mall?"

"Park."

"Red or blue?"

"Yellow."

"No more non-options. Pick one or the other." Ariadne said, taking another sip of her smoothie.

"Ugh. Be a party pooper then. Red." August said as she lost interest and looked over her shoulder out to the middle section the cabins surrounded. Though the cabin area was empty, there was one person who was walking back to his cabin. He was wearing black pants, a black t-shirt, had a chain belt, and long black hair. "Dude that kid is edgy. Whose offspring? Marilyn Manson?" August asked. To her surprise, Ariadne laughed at that.

"Close. That's Nico. He's Hades' kid. Which brings me to my first lesson." Ariadne took the stack of images in her hand and picked out three from the bunch. She laid them out onto the table face up, and August saw that they were of the three Olympian brothers as well as Hera and Artemis.

"Something tells me these all have something in common." August said as she examined all five of them.

"Bingo. These three," Ariadne pointed at the three brothers, Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon and continued, "created a pact after World War Two that they would not have anymore children. Hades seems to have kept his promise. Nico and his Roman sister are both from the pre-war times, before the deal took hold. I'll explain their situation later. However, the other two broke their promise. Zeus has a Greek child named Thalia and a Roman child named Jason, and they are a rare pair of full brother and sister. As for Poseidon, his only known child at the moment is Percy." August looked over Ariadne's head and saw the beach front cabin.

"Is it a power thing? I mean Percy seems like he'd be a pretty hard opponent to beat." August wondered if that was the case, why wouldn't those guys be having more kids.

"Exactly. World War Two was really brought upon us because of some demigods in very high positions of power, both politically and parental wise. The big three, as we call them, wanted to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again." August thought the reason sound, but started to wonder whom these politically powered demigods were in WWII, thinking that there had to be some sort of give away to who they were.

"However, Percy seems to have disbanded that pact as of two years ago; again I'll explain that later. We may be seeing some pretty powerful kids show up in about eight years time." Ariadne said, a somewhat worried look spreading across her face.

"Can I ask a question?" August asked as she looked at Ariadne and thought about how she and Annabeth looked different from each other, and yet the same. Ariadne nodded and looked at August expectantly. "It seems like each god has a set of traits that appear in each of their kids right?"

"Yes, a lot of them do." Ariadne replied.

"Ok, so are there gods that don't? Like, would I run into someone here and have no clue who they belonged to or if they're even a demigod because they have no traits?" Ariadne thought for a second and replied.

"Ever god has a dead give away. My siblings and I have angular features, but more prominently than that, we have the same eyes." Ariadne looked strait into August's eyes, and it was like looking at an angry hurricane and being trapped in the eye of the storm. "That really goes for a lot of the gods. Most of their kids will have the same eyes. Some say it's because the eyes are the door way to the soul." August could believe that, seeing as how everyone she had met so far had some sort of unnatural or vibrant eye color.

"What about hair color or height?" August continued.

"Some of the gods will have traits like that, though they're not necessary. Your siblings seem to all have sandy blonde hair like Apollo, and Hephaestus's kids are all darker skinned, possibly due to Hephaestus's adaptation to heat. Some cabins, like Aphrodite, Demeter, and mine will have kids that look alike to an extent, but will vary person to person. Then again, Aphrodite's cabin is up for debate seeing as how much makeup they use." Ariadne explained as she rolled her eyes at Aphrodite's cabin.

"Will all of a gods kids have the same powers and stuff?" August had seen her siblings play guitar and write good poetry, but she wondered if her healing was unique.

"There are specific things that each group will have in common. Take Hephaestus' kids. All of them are great with machines and metal working. Your side of the family has archery skills and healing. Percy can control water and storms, and Demeter's children all seem to have a green thumb. However, some powers are rare and will stand out from the rest. Piper, the head of Aphrodite's cabin, can use a type of manipulation called charm speaking. Leo, the head of Hephaestus's cabin is pyrokinetic."

"What about your family?" August asked, wondering if Ariadne had any special powers she should watch out for.

"My side has naturally advanced brain power and battle endurance, though Athena's other power of advanced speed has not been seen for hundreds of years." Ariadne mentioned like it was no big deal.

"Advanced speed? Why would Athena need advanced speed?" August asked, curious. Ariadne looked at her like it was obvious.

"More like why wouldn't she? The ability to elude enemies, strike without detection and move on to the next enemy with ease would seem like the perfect tool for someone who's mind works faster than anything known." Ariadne explained. August felt almost foolish for not realizing it sooner. "Any other questions?" August shook her head.

"Moving on then." Ariadne pointed at the two goddesses. "So Artemis and Hera don't have kids because Hera is completely devoted to Zeus and the idea of family, and Artemis is a virginal goddess. She actually kind of hates men."

"But Athena is also a virginal goddess." August said, confused as to how Athena managed to have so many kids without ever doing the deed.

"True, she is. But, how was Athena herself born?" Ariadne asked. August remembered that Athena was born out of thought, directly from Zeus's head.

"Thought. Are her kids born the same way too?" August asked, now even more confused.

"Not born, but conceived that way. Athena still went through childbirth, but my siblings and I are a product of both our mother and father's essence produced from thought." Ariadne explained.

"Well ok then. I guess I can understand that." August said, halfway lying. She got that Athena was the goddess of thought and therefore her mind was super powerful, but Immaculate Conception was still a mental stretch, just out of her mind's grasp.

"Let's move on then." Ariadne said as she took out a few more cards. "Moving on from the main twelve, we have a few other gods that have cabins here, and their kids have their own sets of talents and skills." Ariadne went on to explain about a few other minor gods and their kids, such as Hypnos and Hestia. She stopped on Iris, the rainbow goddess. "She can help you send messages via rainbows and mist." Ariadne put the cards down on the table and stood up. "You know what, follow me." Ariadne motioned for August to follow, and August obeyed. As they walked, Ariadne had busied herself trying to solve the rubix cube again.

"You know there's a trick to solving those. Ed taught it to me." August mentioned as she watched Ariadne turn the sides over and over.

"I know, but I don't want to know. I like figuring things out myself." Ariadne said without looking up. August shook her head.

"_Makes it SO much easier though! You would have solved it by now_." She thought to herself. August went over the formula in her head. Right right right left left down down up left right left, over and over and over. She would have said something, but August had a feeling that most of Athena's kids didn't like being wrong or being corrected.

"Well, we're here. You can explain how to solve this thing later, I've got something to show your first." They had made their way to a white cabin with a rainbow painted across it, which was home to the children of Iris. Ariadne knocked on the door, and a large young man with forearms the size of August's torso opened up.

"Butch, this is August, Apollo's newest camper. I wanted to show her how to send a message." Butch stepped aside to let them in.

"Sure thing, Arry. So, Apollo's got a new one. Tell me August, where you from?" It surprised August that a rainbow goddess could have a son who looked like The Rock as a teenager.

"California." When she said it, Butch gave her an interesting look. He quickly shook it off and directed them towards a fountain in the middle of the cabin.

"This here is a hot water fountain. As you can see, the steam is creating a rainbow. You can use these to send messages to anyone in the world, provided you have one of these." Butch reached into the fountain and pulled out a gold coin a little bigger than a gold dollar.

"Drachma. They're basically the currency of the ancient Greeks. They're useful when sending messages or when trying to get across the river of stix. They can also be used to send packages via Hermes." Ariadne explained. She handed August a drachma. "Throw it into the fountain, and with every ounce of will power say 'Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering.'"

"And then what?" August thought this whole thing was absurd, but then again, everything had been out of the ordinary for the past few days.

"And then you pick anyone you want to talk to, and concentrate on getting a hold of them. The message should go through, and their likeness should appear in the mist. It's like talking to someone on a computer screen." Ariadne gestured for August to throw the coin into the fountain.

"Who to call first… Ed!" August tossed the coin into the fountain and recited the blessing. In no time, Ed appeared in the misty vision, sitting beneath an oak tree playing a set of reed pipes. When he spotted the Iris message, he smiled.

"Hey look who discovered Iris messaging! This is totes gonna come in handy for you." He said as he waved to everyone in the room.

"Dude this is awesome! So I can seriously use this to contact anyone at anytime?" August was really fond of the idea that coins and water could put her in contact with anyone, maybe even her mother.

"That's the idea." Suddenly, Ed's vision started to blur. "Hang on guys, I'm losing ya. Hello? Hello! He guys I-" Ed's vision faded away. August thought that it was because her call time was up, but another vision started to form. It was a figure, a man's figure, standing in the mist. It started to clear up little by little.

"Arry, is this something that happens often with these Iris things?" August asked, confused as to why someone was intercepting her call.

"I… I don't know what's going on actually. Butch?" Butch shook his head, unable to explain it. The vision cleared up, revealing a beautiful young man with sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, tanned skin and a toned body wearing a flannel shirt and torn jeans. He stroked his hair back and looked August dead in the eyes with the same eyes that inhabited her own face.

"… Dad?"


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Father of Mine**

August stared into the fountain, unable to look away from the young man who looked like a male version of herself.

"Hey kid, have a good flight here? I hope Athena didn't give you too much of a hard time in court." Apollo said with a bright, warm smile that made August feel instantly connected to him.

"Uh yeah… yeah both went totally fine." August trailed off, still stunned at the fact that she was talking to the man that had not been a part of her life for fourteen years through a fountain, and that he was a deity. She stood in silence for a second until Apollo spoke up again.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't make who I was or who you are clear earlier, but I didn't want to take you away from the life you had. Cali is pretty awesome yeah?" August nodded. Apollo continued, "I'm also sorry I didn't get you here earlier. I wanted to postpone your destiny as long as I could, but seeing as how things are starting to heat up I thought that now was as good a time as any." August wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real or not, but she felt better hearing all of this from him. August finally thought of something to ask after another pause.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking him in the eyes. He paused for a moment, and then answered.

"I dunno." He shook his head, knowing that wouldn't work. "Ok, I do know, but I can't tell you because that would go against the rule that the gods cannot interfere with earth's inhabitance directly. Even talking to you right now I'm breaking like, the biggest rule here but whatever. Anyways, just know that I have the purest faith in you." Even though he was being vague and didn't answer her question, August knew he was being sincere.

"I understand… I think. I accept that you guys can't stick around and help out. I mean, you carry the sun every day, that seems like a pretty hard core full time job." Apollo nodded and laughed to himself.

"That's all I can ask of you to do is try understand." He said with a loving smile on his face.

"Can I ask what Athena meant about me and Hyperion?" August questioned. She remembered Athena saying that Apollo knew something about it. He shook his head.

"Ask your friends to take you to Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She holds the answers." Apollo's cryptic answer wasn't what August was looking for, but she accepted it and moved on.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" August asked, thinking that the sun god probably had a reason for interrupting her lesson other than to have a father daughter bonding moment. His face went still.

"You are important. If there is one thing you need to remember about yourself, it's that you're going to do big things for big people. In the next few weeks, you're going to be tested to see if you are worthy of the next step, but trust me when I say you are. There are things about you that know one expects. Also, you're in a pact with Athena at the moment. I can't tell you what you have to do, but I'm sure you'll know it when you see it. I have to go now, but remember what I said." The vision in the mist started to fade.

"Hang on wait! What does any of that even mean?" August yelled back at the ever fading image of Apollo.

"You'll figure it out, I promise!" The image disappeared completely. When it was over, August stood in silence for a minute before remembering the two other people in the room. She turned around to see Butch with a dumbstruck face and his mouth wide, and Ariadne with her arms crossed, eyes wide, chewing on her lower lip.

"Well." Started Butch, "You don't see that everyday."

"That was way more than I bargained for." August replied, trying to unclog her brain after that whole ordeal.

"I think we can end this lesson a bit early today." Said Ariadne, her eyes still fixed on the now empty steam. August nodded in agreement. Butch told August that if she ever needed to send a message to come visit him. August thanked him, and she and Ariadne made their way back to the cabins.

"Do the gods make themselves known to their children that way often or am I just some sort of odd man out?" August asked, not expecting a reasonable answer.

"It actually varies between everyone. Sometimes they just show up in front of everyone, sometimes it's through dreams, and sometimes it's through letters or something not too obvious." Ariadne said as she stared at August. August felt those gray eyes boring into her like ice picks.

"You're probably wondering what he meant by important or that I was going to do big things, but I have no idea what he's talking about." August finally said. Just then, the horn blew.

"What's this about Hyperion?" Ariadne asked.

"Athena says he's on the up rise, and I'm supposed to help defeat him." August said, thinking about how big a task at hand she had. Ariadne looked at August like she was considering something.

"It's lunch time, I'll come find you during free period to go visit Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the holder of the oracle. If your dad, the god of prophecy says to visit her, then we better go visit her." Ariadne said as she walked back towards her cabin.

"Sounds like a plan." August mumbled to no one in particular as she trekked back towards her own cabin.

"And that's when the vision stopped." August finished her story to Will and the rest of her cabin, leaving them all looking a little stunned.

"It's gotta be something big. Dad isn't usually one to just appear like that." Austin said as he bit into his sandwich.

"You don't think he'd send you on a quest so soon, do you?" Kayla asked August. August was about to answer when Paul interjected.

"Hell, they sent Percy and Annabeth on a quest when they were twelve. It was Percy's third day of actual camp if I remember correctly, and he had barely recovered from getting his ass kicked around by a Minotaur." Paul said.

"Look, whatever it is, I know that I've got a pretty big part in it. Which may or may not be a bummer." August said, staring at her glass of lemonade.

"Well, whatever happens, we're right here for you. Bros and Bras for life man." Will said as he raised his glass. They all toasted in her favor, but it didn't lesson the sense of dread at the pit of August's stomach.

4th, 5th, and 6th period happened to all be very fun and exciting for August. She had acrobatics with the rest of her siblings during 4th, Pegasus and chariot riding during 5th, and archery during 6th. Archery proved to be very easy for her, and she had the opportunity to break in her new bow and arrows. She even learned to hit targets while on the move. When free period rolled around, she found herself on the porch with her sister, Sandy and their guitars.

"He's a pinball wizard there has to be a twist!" Sandy sang out as August proceeded to jam into a guitar solo. The two of them were having so much fun jamming, August forgot all about her previous engagements.

"Enough of the Who for right now." August almost jumped out of her skin again when Ariadne's voice came from behind her again. "Would you like to go for a walk, August?"

"Are you always going to sneak up behind me like that?" August asked as she set her guitar down.

"Depends, are you always going to be easy to sneak up on? Rule number one about battle; be aware of your surroundings at all times. Now, would you like to go for a walk with me?" Ariadne asked again, seeming a little more impatient.

"Awww but I'm so tired and stuff." August whined, leaning her face against the porch railing.

"Let me restate myself. You're going for a walk with me." Those gray eyes almost demanded August go with her.

"Ugh. Fine. Sandy, keep guard until I come back from wherever Arry is kidnapping me to. That is, if I make it out alive." She joked. Sandy saluted back to her, and August turned to follow Ariadne down the path of cabins and into the woods. The walk was silent for a while, going deeper and deeper through the trees until August tried to break the tension.

"Something tells me you really are going to kill me and leave my body here in the woods." August said as they continued to walk. Ariadne laughed, which was again surprising. Ariadne was not someone who came off as having a dark sense of humor like August.

"Don't worry, not this time. I'm actually taking you to see Rachel. She's the mortal holder of the oracle that lives in the cave in the middle of these woods." Ariadne said as she took the rubix cube out and handed it to August. "I've finally given up, you figure it out."

"You guys keep a pet mortal in a cave? I think that's illegal in most states." August said as she began turning the cube. Ariadne giggled again at the joke. August was growing more fond of the sound; clean and high like a bell.

"Key word is _mos_t; there's no laws against it in New York." She joked back. August looked at her, feeling less tense than she did earlier in the day.

"I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours." August said as she continued turning the cube.

"You might be disappointed. My story is kind of average for a demigod." Ariadne admitted.

"That's ok. Mine can kind of make up for both of us." August replied.

"Well, ok. My dad works at the Pentagon as one of the top brains of the army strategists. He works very closely with deployed troops to ensure that they're strategies and tactics are at their peak. My mother, Athena, met him when she was on one of her visits. Apparently she visits the Pentagon a lot, but then again that doesn't surprise me. Anyways, they met, he fell in love instantly, and she admired him greatly. Long story short, here I am. My mother had to leave my father when I was only a few months old, but that's how gods are. However, she would periodically visit. During one of the visits when I was ten, she gave him the directions to this camp and told him that it would help me in the long run. That was my first summer, and I've been going here ever since." Ariadne finished. August found it odd that Athena had visited Ariadne's family when Apollo hadn't even said hello to her until today.

"Is that common? God's sticking around and visiting their kids?" August asked, worried that her dad really was a deadbeat.

"Apparently I'm a rare breed in that my mother actually had a part in my life and stuck around after birth for a little while. Annabeth and the others don't understand it, but I don't take it for granted. I love and highly respect my mother and appreciate the fact that she would even do such a thing. So, what's your story then?" Ariadne stopped and looked at August, who had solved the cube and was now hanging off of a tree limb by one hand. Ariadne cocked and eyebrow, but gave August an amused half smile.

"Oh, right my story now." August said as she dropped down from the tree. As she told her story, she noticed that they were getting pretty far along in the woods. When she had finally finished, a cave came into view.

"It could have been worse. You could have crashed into a building full of monsters like Parker, one of Ares' kids did. I'm just glad you're ok." Ariadne said as she took the cube back. August was a little shocked at Ariadne showing concern. Maybe she hadn't been reading Ariadne correctly. "We're here by the way, the cave of the Oracle." August froze at the entrance. The mouth of the cave was slightly light, but the rest of it was dark and pitch black. August's hands started to sweat, and she froze in place.

"I… I don't have to like, go in. Do I?" She asked as she took a step back from the cave. Ariadne looked at her funny.

"Not if you don't want to. I mean it's just a cave. It gets nicer inside when we get to Rachel's area." Ariadne said as she took a step closer to August.

"But, I mean, how far in until we get to that area? Can you see your way into through to that area or is it just, like, dark?" August asked, still staring at the entrance. August saw that Ariadne had put two and two together in her head.

"You're afraid of the dark aren't you?" She asked. August looked at the ground and nodded her head.

"Pretty stupid huh? Here I am, jumping off of buildings and stuff and yet I can't go to sleep without leaving the blinds open so the street lights shine in. It's been that way since I was a kid." August felt an old shame creep back into her.

"It's not stupid, I hate spiders." Ariadne said as she looked at August sympathetically.

"Spiders? Well, they are creepy and have a lot of legs. I can get that." August said as she walked towards the cave a little bit.

"It's not because of that. Well I mean they are horrible and vile creatures that deserve to burn in Tartarus for eternity," Ariadne cringed, and then continued. "You see, my mother had a run in with Arachne, a woman who challenged her to a weaving contest. Well Athena won, at least depending on whom you ask, but Arachne wasn't having that. So Athena, in order to get Arachne to shut up, burned her tapestry and turned her into a spider so she could weave all she wanted without ever challenging the gods again. Of course Aracne and her children forever held a grudge, and ever since then all of Athena's children have had a deep fear of spiders." After Ariadne explained, August understood herself a little bit better.

"My fear of the dark probably comes from the fact that my dad is the sun god." August said, forming the conclusion in her head.

"Exactly. You see, irrational fears here at Half-Blood are really part of everyday life. Now, wait out here while I go get Rachel." With that, Ariadne stepped into the cave and out of site.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hey guys, I'm SO glad you like this story! I was really worried this wouldn't take very well at all, but you guys have made my day with all of your nice reviews! It really makes me feel awesome to know that this is working out! Now, I'm not usually one to want promotion my work, but seeing as though some of you are thinking that this needs more publicity, if you like what you see here I give anyone full permission to link it anywhere you want. Sharing is caring! That being said, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BELONGING TO THE ORIGINAL PERCY JACKSON UNIVERSE SO PLEASE DO NOT ASSOCIATE ME AS THE ORIGINAL CREATOR. Now that I have that taken care of...<em>  
><em>Yes, every chapter IS a song title. If you want the artist, comment and I'll send you the artist and album. Who knows, you may just find a new favorite band! Also, keep on rocking in the free world homies!<em>


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: First Day of the Rest of Our Lives**

The cave must have been deeper than expected, because it took forever for Ariadne and a girl with bright red hair to emerge. During that time of waiting, August had managed to climb a tree and was hanging upside down from one of the branches while singing a song from a crappy pop band she had heard on the radio.

"I see you've managed to keep yourself occupied." Ariadne said as she looked at her inverted cohort with yet another cocked eyebrow.

"I get bored easily." August said, and flipped herself off the branch. She looked at the red head girl and wondered what was so special about her. Rachel seemed perfectly normal, and yet August felt a strong presence around her.

"You must be August. I'm Rachel, keeper of the Oracle and resident pet mortal." Rachel smiled at August. August had no idea how someone so ordinary held something so powerful.

"Nice to meet you. So you control the prophecies and stuff right?" August's anxiety set in, hoping that whatever prophecies Rachel said wouldn't put too much responsibility on her.

"Not exactly." Rachel said shaking her head. "It's more like the Oracle controls me. I'm just the middle man that it speaks through."

"So you don't know when you'll get the next one, it just kind of happens?" August said, thinking that it would be awful to live that way.

"It's a small price I have to pay for helping save the world." Rachel responded, shrugging her shoulders.

"Rachel has promised to come to you first if she feels the Oracle trying to speak through her. In the mean time, I would keep this whole Apollo thing under wraps. We really have no idea what he was talking about, as it is with many things the gods say sometimes. Best not to spread it without knowing for sure. You didn't tell anyone yet right?" Ariadne asked. August looked at the ground.

"Does my entire cabin count?" August responded, knowing that running her mouth would always end up with her in some kind of trouble. Ariadne shut her eyes and sighed.

"Just don't tell anyone else. Deal?" Ariadne looked at her as if to say 'stop running your mouth.' August nodded.

"We should probably be headed back, I mean it's getting time for food." August said as she noticed the sun going down below the tree line.

"Good point, I'm starved." Rachel said as the trio began down the path.

"Wait, you eat in the dining area with us?" August wondered how to managed to miss someone like Rachel before.

"Yup, I sure do. Got my own place right next to Chiron at the head table." Rachel said, and August started to feel really bad for not noticing this before.

"Wow. I feel kinda bad that I never said hello or anything." August said apologetically.

"I don't blame you. I'm not even a camper and life here is hectic. Everyone comes around in their own time." Rachel said, giving August a warm smile.

"It's hard to believe we keep you in a cave. I'm starting to think they should let you out more often." August joked. All three of them laughed, and August relaxed a bit. As they made their way down the path, it got darker and darker. August, however, didn't seem to mind at all.

"Tell me your secrets corn!" August commanded as she shucked yet another ear and handed the husk to Ed, who promptly devoured it. Two weeks had gone by since Apollo had appeared to her in the mist. Since then, August had adjusted very well to camp life, quickly learning her way around a battle field, becoming handy with medicine, and becoming a productive member of the "family." She even started a new band with her siblings by the name of "Donner Party Crashers." Today she was on lunch duty, where a selected group of kids had to help prepare ingredients for the meal. August was put on corn duty, to her great annoyance.

"I dunno dude, I don't think corn has secrets." Ed said in between chews.

"Why can't I have a Sonic Screwdriver like Doctor Who? Then I could just like, unlock all the husks at once or something." August complained, ripping another husk off.

"Well we can't all be time lords now can we?" Leo, the head councilor of Hephaestus's cabin said, giving her a smile. Over the past few weeks, he and August had become fast friends through their shared love of Sci-Fi.

"Whatever yo. Corn is for squares anyways. You can't even digest the stuff unless you're a goat! Uh, no offense." August said turning to Ed.

"None taken. We can't all have three stomachs." He said, chewing on yet another husk. As she went back to shucking, August heard a familiar voice make its way through the kitchen towards her.

"Arry senses. Tingling." August said looking up from her husks to see the brown haired girl shoving her way past harpies and chefs. August had gotten pretty close with both Ariadne and Rachel since her first encounters with both of them. The trio had almost become inseparable, always spending free time together, and with August and Ariadne pairing up during classes. August had become quite good at reading the usually unreadable Ariadne (mostly due necessity considering how much August loved to annoy Ariadne at every given opportunity), and knew when something was up, like now.

"August! August I need to talk to you outside. NOW." Ariadne said as she stopped in front of the counter August was sitting at. August had never seen Ariadne so panicked before; her eyes wide, face paler than usual, and she seemed out of breath like she had run a very long distance to get to where she was now.

"Ok let's go. Ed, take my post until I return. If I return, I never know with her." August tossed an ear of corn to Ed, who didn't look like he minded taking over the job in the slightest. Ariadne grabbed August by the arm, and the two dashed outside to where Rachel, Chiron, and to August's surprise Annabeth and Percy were standing.

"August, it happened." Rachel looked like she had just run a marathon and hadn't slept in days. The rest of the group looked just as worried.

"Rachel said it was about you. What's going on?" Percy asked, looking like he was ready to spring into battle at any minute.

"I don't know. What is going on?" August asked back, equally confused. Annabeth took a deep breath and sighed.

"How familiar are you with the term 'quest?'" Annabeth asked.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: **

The group consisting of August, Rachel, Percy, Annabeth, Chiron, Ariadne, and a new satyr who had introduced himself as Grover sat around the big table in the Big House. Chiron had told August to follow him to the Big House, and the sense of dread that came along with talk of a prophecy settled into August's stomach.

"So, what happened?" August asked, all eyes on her. She looked at each face at the table, and none of them seemed happy. Rachel spoke first.

"I got the feeling that I needed to get close to the sun today. Sometimes, before the Oracle speaks through me, it will lead me to an area or some sort of thing that acts as a symbol to help explain the prophecy. So, I went to the highest point in camp, which happened to be the lake side peak." Just then, Grover interjected.

"I was there with Percy when she came up the hill in some sort of trance. That's when she spoke the prophecy." He said, looking between Rachel and August.

"So are you guys going to tell me what it was or what?" August asked, growing anxious and impatient.

"Here." Rachel handed August a slip of paper with the prophecy written on it in ancient Greek.

NEW BLOOD IS CALLED TO GO TO THE WEST

THE STRENGTH OF LIGHT IS PUT TO THE TEST

A CHOICE MUST BE MADE TO RUN OR TO FIGHT

THE MASTER OF SUN A BEACON OF LIGHT

August read the words carefully. Her natural gift at prophecy and poetry came in handy, as she almost immediately understood what it was saying. Just as she was sure she had it, Annabeth spoke up.

"Traditionally three people are allowed to go on a quest unless stated otherwise. Trust me, we've tried it with more than three before and it did not end well." Her eyes went dark as if she was remembering something. Percy looked uncomfortable, like he was suppressing a memory as he stroked back his hair. August thought she saw a faint hint of a grey stripe, but wasn't so sure.

"Right, so Annabeth and I have volunteered to go with you on this quest." Percy said, getting over his memories and nodding at August encouragingly.

"No, it can't be either one of you." August responded, reading over the prophecy again. Chiron and the rest of the table looked at her in confusion.

"August, you must understand that these two have been on more successful quests than any heroes in Half Blood. They are your best shot at making it home alive." Ariadne said, eying August carefully.

"I'm not saying they aren't great. Hell, I've heard more about these two than any other campers here. But, the prophecy specifically calls for new blood." August retorted.

"I doesn't say more than one, it just says new blood. Besides, do you know how dangerous it is to send out new heroes on quests?" Annabeth argued back. August realized that Annabeth was someone who didn't like being told no.

"Look, I know these guys better than anyone and I can tell you that you will not fail with them in your corner. I'd stick with them over anyone." Grover interjected. August wasn't listening to their reasoning. Something, almost like a voice in the back of her head, was hammering at the idea of three new bloods. She knew she had to listen to it.

"It doesn't imply just one either. It probably would have said "a new blood" or "the new blood" had it wanted only one. And besides, you both had your first quest at twelve working directly for the gods. Percy, didn't you find Zeus's bolt, fight Ares and won, and lead your team home safely? And Annabeth weren't you the brain power of that whole operation? I've also heard that you came in handy too, Grover. If some twelve year olds and a satyr can make it back from a quest just fine, then so can three new heroes." August finished. Her blue eyes pierced through each person at the table.

"This is different. You're don't know what you're going up against! My first quest was plenty dangerous, and all I was doing was retrieving something for Zeus. It was strait forward and I still almost got everyone on my team killed." Percy responded indignantly. Even with his annoyed tone, August could tell that he was genuinely worried for her. She wondered just how much death someone had to witness before becoming paranoid and didn't blame him.

"I know what I'm going up against. Hyperion." August said leaning back and crossing her arms, not letting anyone change her mind. Everyone's expression changed at hearing the name. Even Ariadne, who had heard the details already, almost flinched at the name.

"How do you know he's what you're going up against? If that's the truth then you're really going to need some quest vets in this situation. Hyperion is the greatest Titan general, and will stop at nothing until he wins. The only reason we were able to topple the Titans two years ago was because they didn't allow him to lead! We're going with you and that's final." Annabeth almost yelled, her face stern and almost angry.

"No you're not. And I know what my goal is because my father and Athena, your own mother told me. You're not going to change my mind one way or another about any of this either." August responded, her voice still even and cool.

"August, stop arguing. These guys are the best shot you've got. I'd trust them over anyone else. The only reason they're taking you along is because the prophecy demanded new blood, Apollo's house call demanded you, and Rachel said so." Ariadne said. She looked at August in an almost pleading manor.

"What do you mean your father and my mother told you about Hyperion?" Annabeth asked, now less angry and more confused. August took a deep breath and told the table about her encounter with Apollo through the mist, and Athena's words about Hyperion in the limo. As she finished, Chiron who had been quiet all this time spoke up.

"I agree with August. I firmly believe that she understands what the prophecy calls for, and that it is about her. We will send three new bloods on the quest." He said, folding his hands and placing them on the table in a passively peaceful manner.

"What? Chiron you can't be serious. They'll get killed out there without someone who knows what they're doing!" Percy said, his eyes full of fear. It wasn't like August didn't want them with her. The opposite was true in fact; she didn't want anyone else besides Percy and Annabeth with her. They would know what to do and how to act, but August knew that wasn't possible.

"That's exactly what I thought about you three when you showed up at my camp six years ago half dead and with no formal training, you were a bratty little know it all, and you were a scared little satyr barely able to take his first steps into battle. Now look at the three of you." Chiron said, looking at Percy, Annabeth and Grover respectively. The trio looked defeated, but understanding. Annabeth sighed and looked at August.

"Fine, You win. Do you know who you're going to take?" She asked, looking at August with a cocked eyebrow and a look that told her not to mess around.

"I have an idea, yes. I'll need to get their permission first. How many days do I have to get me and my team ready?" August asked Chiron.

"Today is Friday, so I will give you to Sunday to have everything and everyone ready for the quest. You all are dismissed." He responded. Annabeth shook her head while leaving, and Percy gave August a half smile. August didn't let those phase her. Something had changed inside of August. Instead of being filled with the usual dread and anxiety she felt from so much responsibility, she felt determined and excited. She knew if she was going to do this quest, she was going to do it right.

"And that's why I need you on this quest Ed. Please tell me you'll do it?" August had just finished telling Ed all that went down at the Big House the day before, and was now pleading with Ed to be her first recruit on her new quest.

"Yeah I'll do it. I told you I'd be loyal till you no longer need me to be right? Bros for life yo!" Ed said, fist bumping August.

"Yes! Thank you Ed! I will forever be in debt to you for this, but I don't care. You're the best satyr bro a girl could wish for!" August said as she hugged Ed and almost crushed his rib cage.

"Yes yes now let go!" Ed said, prying August off of him. "Have you thought about the third person yet?" He asked.

"Yes, and I was just about to go ask them." August said, and then darted off in the direction of her next class.

August flipped herself upside down and was hanging off of the gutter of Athena's cabin, a la Spider-Man. Ariadne was sitting in the first chair, looking up at August. Her hair was tied back into a messy bun, and she was wearing a purple Ravenclaw t-shirt and jean shorts. Even with her very camp oriented appearance, August knew that Ariadne still looked better than her. Somehow, cargo shorts were just not cutting it.

"About time you showed up. Get off the roof and lets start." Ariadne said with a slight smile while picking up a large book from the ground and placing it on the table. August dropped down from the roof and sat cross legged in the chair opposite Ariadne's.

"That book could probably kill a small child if dropped from a second story window." August said, looking at the book. It was old, with a leather cover and yellow pages. It's title, The Titanic Period, was written in Ancient Greek. "And I'm thinking that this doesn't have anything to do with that Leo DiCaprio movie."

"It's about the Titans, the deities before the Greek Gods." Ariadne said as she opened the book to a page she had marked. "This is the only chapter where Hyperion is mentioned. He really didn't do much during the Titan reign besides control the light. Even during the final battle of the Titans, he really only rallied troops and lead them as a head general."

"So he himself is not that big of a deal then, just his troops. Well this should be easy." August said smiling.

"Not exactly. You see, when the Gods vanquished the Titans, the Titans used up a lot of power to try and stop the Gods. It didn't work, but they still ended up being significantly weaker and much less powerful after their defeat. Those who used their powers more than others ended up weaker in their defeat. Hyperion barely used any power what so ever." Ariadne's face was worried. This news was obviously unfavorable.

"Which means that much more work for us." Sighed August.

"What do you mean us?" Ariadne asked, looking at August warily.

"Arry, would you please go with me and Ed on this quest?" August asked. Ariadne went pale.

"No. No, August I can't. I'm sorry." She sad, looking back down at the book, obviously scared. August was a little stunned at this answer. She hadn't expected Ariadne to turn her down.

"Arry please! I need someone on my team with your brain power. I know that I can't do it without you." August pleaded. It was her turn to be scared, and she didn't expect to have to put up a fight.

"There are literally dozens of other new bloods out there that would make a valuable asset to your team." Ariadne responded, not looking up.

"But I don't know them as well as I know you." August argued.

"You've known me for two weeks." Ariadne wasn't caving.

"I know you well enough to know that you could totally kick ass on this quest. Why not give it a shot?" August continued trying to chip away at Ariadne's barrier. She finally looked up at August.

"August, we both have lives outside of camp. I know that you're being forced into this quest, but I don't want to be. I know it sounds completely out of character for a child of Athena to say no to a battle laden quest, but I took after her creative wisdom side, not her battle side. Ergo, I want to go home to my friends and family in one piece because knowing me, I'd probably be more interested in the places we were going or the buildings than actually fighting anything. If you're looking for a child of Athena who did take after the battle side, why not chose my brother Malcom, or my other sister Lauren? They've got all the assets and powers you need." Ariadne was not budging.

"But they're not you." August pleaded.

"Look, the answer is no. That's that. But, I will help you prepare for your quest." Ariadne said, looking back at the book. August was running out of options. She knew that she had to have Araidne on her team, but at this point she was running low on luck. August thought to herself, and an idea popped into her head. Though it was not a proud power to have, August had become a master at begging, only because begging was the one instance where her baby blue eyes could be used to her advantage. August took a breath and looked at Ariadne with the most pitiful look she could muster.

"Arry. Arry please. I seriously don't think I can do with without you." August looked her friend dead in the eyes, trying to make it look like she was about to start crying. She could see Ariadne starting to waver.

"August, don't do this to me." Ariadne said, looking off to the side. August continued to plead silently with her eyes, not looking away.

"If it's not you then it's not anyone. I mean it." August said. She was really pulling out all the stops on this one. Ariadne closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. August thought she had won.

"August I gave you my answer. I'm not the right choice to fight an angry Titan with you." Ariadne sounded final in her decision. August didn't say anything and slumped into her chair, sulking at her loss. "Don't sulk on me now, August. I'm sure you can find someone more suited for the quest." She said in a somewhat soothing tone, though it didn't help the situation.

"I think you underestimate yourself too much, Arry. But ok, I accept your answer even though I'll probably wind up dead because you're not there to over analyze things so I don't end up running head on into my death… or a spiked pit or some shit." August got up and began to walk away from the porch, on the verge of terrified and panicked tears. She didn't want Ariadne to see her this way.

"Where are you going?" Ariadne asked as she watched August walk down the steps.

"To find someone else, apparently." August said flatly.

"Do you really want me on this quest that badly?" Ariadne asked, sounding unsure of herself.

"I've already told you, yes." August hadn't turned around, but waiting on the bottom step to make sure Ariadne didn't have anything else to say.

"Why?"

"I've already told you why, Arry! Now unless you're going to help me, I've got to find someone who's smart enough to help me not die!" August snapped, turning around. Angry and scared tears burned her eyes. Ariadne bit her lip and looked down, obviously thinking hard about her decision.

"You have to promise me that you won't let anything happen to me." Ariadne finally said.

"I swear I will do my best to keep you and Ed safe, no matter what." August answered, knowing full and well that she would keep that promise.

"Swear on the River of Stix?" Ariadne asked.

"You mean the river in the underworld? Is that like a verbal contract?" August asked, unsure of what swearing on the river would do and if it was safe.

"If you swear on the River of Stix, it means you can't break that promise or else really bad stuff will happen. Do you swear?" Ariadne was obviously not going to let this slide.

"Yes. I swear on the River of Stix that I will do everything I can to keep you safe." August answered, sitting back down at the table. Ariadne nodded. Then, she grabbed the collar of August's shirt in her fist and pulled her almost across the table so they're faces where incredibly close.

"If you ever use those eyes of yours on me again I will remove them. Got it?" August nodded, knowing that Ariadne might just carry through with that threat. "Good." She let go of August's shirt and went back to pointing things out in the book. August felt a great weight lift off her chest.

"I was wondering why the prophecy wanted us to go to the west. It's unusual that you're Greek when the Roman camp is in San Francisco. It's not like anything good ever comes from the west, not for the Greeks anyways. It's really where the Romans find their luck. The west where the underworld entrance is located, where the sun sets, and where the Pacific starts, the most vast ocean." Ariadne explained. An idea sprung into August's head.

"Well that's obviously where something is hidden that has to do with the sun. If Apollo always goes west to set the sun, then that must be where the sun loses its power. Which is odd, considering the fact that California famous for the sun." August mused.

"Say that one more time." Ariadne's eyes snapped up to August's at the mention of California.

"California is famous for the sun?" She looked at Ariadne, wondering what she was thinking.

"No the other thing you said, about the sun setting in the west. The sun doesn't just disappear, it continues around the world in one continuous cycle. But to the gods, the sun ends in the west because that's where the God's main territory ends, since they're currently located in New York. They're keeping something at the end of the US territory so they can keep a close eye on it without having it too close." Ariadne pointed out.

"The God's live in New York?" August asked in a flat tone. She couldn't believe that, even with all the weird stuff going on in her life.

"The Gods move around depending on the center of power. They were in Greece, then in Rome, they moved around in Europe for a long time, and then they settled here when the power shifted to America." Ariadne said in a matter of fact tone, as if it were obvious.

"Oh yeah right, how come I never thought of that." August rolled her eyes. "Back on subject, that would mean that the west is the last place on the God's new territory to see the light in the morning. Right?" August didn't know exactly where they were going with this, but it started to come together.

"Exactly, and that would mean being in the dark while the rest of the country is waking up. It makes whatever's over there easier to keep control over for longer. You don't think that they sealed Hyperion away in California do you?" Ariadne asked, trying to make sense of it. Just then, August had an epiphany. The sun was hot, and perpetually burning. The Gods needed to find a place that was in darkness for longer but still in the territory, very west, and could hold a sun Titan without seeming suspicious. Someplace that was hot, burning even. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. August looked up at Ariadne, her eyes wide.

"No, they're hiding him in Hawaii."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Be Prepared **

Ariadne looked like she had just had cold water dumped on her in her sleep.

"That's so obvious if it were a spider it would have bit me. There's no place to put him in California without people noticing something, and if they put him in Alaska, but then he'd melt everything. In Hawaii, no one can tell if a volcano is erupting or if Hyperion is just angry." Ariadne got up and ran inside her cabin for a second, and then instantly ran back out. "Come help me look for some maps, we're going to have to make a few stops along the way." August stepped inside Athena's cabin, which looked more like an underground bunker built for war than a cabin. The beds were all pushed to the sides, and the middle was used for maps, war strategies, and calculations. To the back, the whole wall was lined with book cases to the ceiling. Ariadne was already looking through the cases and pulling out books. August was just about to look through the shelves when she heard someone come through the front door.

"I see that you've already started planning." August turned around to find Annabeth in the doorway.

"Oh, yeah. Better get it over with now before it's too late." August said, looking back at the titles. Annabeth walked up beside her and searched the shelves.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for bearing down on you like that yesterday. You didn't deserve that. It's just that we've had a lot of deaths on our hands for the past several summers. I just don't want some new guys going out and getting killed because they don't know what they're doing. But, I think you've got a good sense of what you're supposed to do." Annabeth said with an apologetic look on her face. She pulled an atlas from the shelf, and examined it.

"I know you were doing it out of genuine concern, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in your position. You don't have to say you're sorry for doing something in the right mind." August responded. Ariadne had already pulled off as many books as she could handle, but motioned that she was ok.

"I'll meet you outside." She said, trying to open the door with her feet and succeeding. August nodded back.

"Please tell me you at least chose her." Annabeth said.

"Who else?" August said with a smile.

"Good, she is probably the best one to chose in terms of new blood. Maybe even the best one to chose period, besides me of course." Annabeth said jokingly, but August knew she really wasn't.

"I want you to know that I swore on the Stix that I'd do everything in my power to get her back safely. I'm dead serious when I say I'm not going to mess around with this quest." And she was. August wasn't in any way joking around with this quest. She felt it was almost too risky to even talk about, let alone joke about it.

"I know. Look, I really got onto you for not choosing Percy or me not because I thought you wouldn't do a good job, but because Apollo's kids have a habit of talking big stuff and then backing off when the going gets too hard. I didn't know if you were showing off in the Big House by saying you could do it without guidance, but I know now that you really mean what you said." Annabeth's eyes were actively trying to bore through August's head, trying to make sure that August was up to the challenge.

"I know I'm a show off, but I also know that I don't tell people I can do something if I can't. I wouldn't talk big unless I knew I could do it, and I know I can do this." August felt responsible and in charge for this quest, and she wasn't about to let her fears get in the way. Annabeth nodded and gave August an interesting look.

"I believe that you can. You know, you and I may have more in common than you think. Go ask Ariadne what the term hubris means. Anyways, I must be off. There is one more thing I'd like to give you." Annabeth took out a small business card with the name Frederick Chase, and an address in San Francisco. "That's my dad. He's a very nice guy who may be able to help you with supplies and such when you get to California. Tell him I sent you, and he'll understand. Good luck August." Annabeth said as she turned towards the door.

"Your mother said the same thing to me right before I got on the airplane." August called back. Annabeth smiled over her shoulder and continued on.

"I don't have the materials here to make that kind of armor." Leo said as he tinkered with what looked like an old game boy.

"Wow just awesome. Do you at least know where we can get something like that?" August asked, not pleased with the fact that they would have to travel somewhere else to get armor that could withstand the heat of the sun. Ariadne had told August that the only way to fight Hyperion without literally bursting into flames would be to get the same armor that Apollo wears during his travels. August had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy to get three suits of it though.

"Yeah I do, but it's not going to be easy." Leo got up from his work bench and walked to the back of the workshop where a large map of the country was displayed. There were certain areas that were marked with red pins, and Leo pointed to a few of them. "These are some of my dad's workshops that he has around the country. Most of them are located in mining towns or areas where metal is used a lot." The three that stood out were located in Pittsburgh, Arizona, and West Virginia.

"Perfect, we'll go to the one in Arizona. That's closest to where we need to be, and we can head on to Hawaii from there." August remarked, happy that their first stop was so close.

"Actually, West Virginia is going to be your best bet. The type of armor you guys are looking for is going to probably need a ton of fuel to make, and that's exactly what West Virginia is known for. Hephaestus uses that workshop mostly for large scale things for Ares. If you're looking for something that needs a lot of fuel, like heat proof armor, West Virginia it is." Leo went back to his workbench and picked up something that looked like a bronze cog and a small metal dog tag with Leo's named carved into it in Ancient Greek. "You'll need to show him this tag if you want him to make you anything though. He doesn't just hand out armor." Leo handed August the cog and tag.

"Great. Could this be any harder?" August asked herself, not happy that she'd have to make a stop in the drabbest area of the country to get the armor.

"Look on the bright side. After you get the armor, its smooth sailing from there." Leo said, going back to his gameboy.

"Alright, thanks Leo. I owe you one." August said as she walked out of the workshop. Just as she turned the path to go back to her cabin, she saw Ariadne walking down the path with Nico, Hades' son.

"There you are August. This is Nico, son of Hades. He'd like to have a word with us about our quest. Nico, this is August." Ariadne introduced the two. August noticed that Nico looked like a typical emo that she saw at her school, but he had a distinctly older sense about him, like he was not from this time. His hair, though shaggy, was neatly combed, and his clothes were tucked in and well kept for modern day attire. His eyes were dark and brooding, but not in a bad sense. August didn't feel the least bit intimidated by him, though she knew he was not someone to get on a bad side with.

"I hear that you guys are going after Hyperion. I want to let you know that my dad is literally the king of darkness, and I think he may be able to help. Follow me." He led them down the path to his cabin. The cabin was made of a pure black stone with green fire torches. It looked like something out of a My Chemical Romance video, but infinitely cooler. As he led them inside, the whole thing looked very old fashioned. The inside was furnished with older wooden furniture, there was a fire place where a green flame flickered, several book shelves that held books with necromancy titles, and a large wooden desk with an interesting map laid out on it. Nico motioned them over to the map for a closer look.

"My father, Hades, uses a type of magic that allows him to keep parts of the underworld dark all the time. Do you think that magic would come in handy with your quest?" Nico asked.

"I believe it would be incredibly helpful, yes." Ariadne responded, studying the map. August looked over it herself, and realized that it was a map of the underworld.

"Yeah, I agree with Arry on this. Anything and everything can help. How to do we go about getting this magic?" August asked, continuing to look at the map and all of it's tunnels.

"My dad isn't someone who just hands over spells and favors, so getting it from him will require this." Nico handed over a small, rectangular, black tile with his initials. "If you can manage to get to him, which isn't easy, give this to him. He'll know it's me and he may help you. Also, take these too. They'll disguise your scent and make you seem dead." Nico handed August three necklaces with silver dog tags.

"What's in our way besides Cerberus?" Ariadne asked, already making marks and planning an enter and exit route.

"Well you have the fates. If they catch you, then you're in for it. There's also the River of Forgetfulness, Tartarus, The Fields of Punishment… you know what, just take this route." Nico moved in next to Ariadne at the desk, whose ears turned slightly pink.

"The main entrance is the DOA recording studio in Hollywood. After you get in there, give the boat man on the River of Stix a few drachma, and he'll take you to the judgment area. Then, take this path past the fields, and past Tartarus. Do not under any sort of circumstances stray from this path. It will hurt." Nico finished drawing the path, then rolled up the map and handed it to Ariadne. "I trust that you'll be the one to take care of this?" He said, giving her a smile.

"Uh, yes! Yes I will, thank you." As Ariadne took it from him, August could have sworn she saw her blush a little harder.

"Alright Nico, it's very cool to meet you. I owe you big time." August shook Nico's hand.

"I may not look like it, but I'm on the hero's side too. If you ever need anything else, don't be afraid to ask." With that, the horn blew for dinner. "Looks like we're being summoned, let's head out." The three of them walked towards the lunch terrace as Nico managed to lose them in the crowd rush. The two of them didn't mind lagging behind a little; it had been a long day already. August turned the tile over in her hand. It was cool to the touch, no matter how long she held it, and it was shiny, but so dark that nothing could be reflected in it. It made August a little edgy holding it.

"Stygon iron. Only Nico and Hazel, his sister, are known to control it. It's supposed to be the underworld equivalent to Celestial bronze. That is to say, powerful and holds magic." Ariadne explained. August felt now was as best a time as any to get on Ariadne's nerves.

"So, you like him or what?" August had a feeling this wouldn't fly well, but she had to ask. Ariadne's cheeks turned bright pink as she turned away.

"To be honest, I don't know if I like him or the fact that he pays attention to me." Ariadne admitted.

"Pays attention to you? Arry, I would think that you would have like, so many guys after you." August was dumbfounded that Ariadne didn't have more people with her name on their list. Ariadne turned red again and let her hair fall over her face for cover.

"It's complicated. Many people tend to avoid Athena's kids in terms of dating for various reasons. For one thing, Athena is still a virgin goddess with her kids coming from thought and not, well, intimacy. I guess that puts it into people's heads that we're all stuck up and not looking for romance. It comes with the whole mind over heart mentality. Not that Athena's kids hate relationships, but they're not known for them like many other demigods. Also, have you seen my eyes lately? Not exactly a warm color." As Ariadne explained, August knew exactly what Ariadne was talking about.

"I think I get it. A lot of people avoid me because they think I'm, I dunno, intimidating? They think it's all one giant competition from me. Not to mention the piercings don't seem to help. The last time I walked into a 7/11, the cashier watched me the whole time to make sure I didn't steal anything. Kinda sucks actually." August said as they reached the dining pavilion. Ariadne handed the tile back with a smile.

"I guess that makes two of us. I'll see you after lunch then. We can explain everything to Ed." Ariadne said over her shoulder as she walked towards her table. August had a feeling this quest was going to be a little more work than she intended.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Adventure**

Sunday came all too soon. The trio had barely finished all the preparations for their journey before Sunday morning rolled around. Their path was as clear as they could make it. They would take a train to West Virginia, and locate Hephaestus and his workshop. Then, they would either fly or bus it to LA, retrieve the spell from the underworld, and stop Hyperion from uprising before the 21st of June, which gave them six days. If that sounded simple enough, they had to do it without causing a scene. August was up and getting packed with the help of Will, who kept the mood light by making dumb jokes about Justin Beiber and Will Smith. As August was checking over everything one last time, and making sure she had everything, Percy came in through the door.

"I need to tell you something before you leave." He sounded very serious, which was unusual for Percy.

"Yeah go ahead, anything helps." August stopped what she was doing to listen.

"We fought Hyperion three summers ago. He wasn't very strong, and we ended up turning him into a tree. If you are right about Hawaii, and I'm pretty sure you are, lead him to the sea when you find him. He's less powerful when wet. However, I don't know if he's gained power or not. If all else fails, find some way to signal us. I'm going to the Roman camp in the west with a select group of campers to make sure we can get there fast if all else fails. We believe in you August, and don't forget that you've got friends in all of us." He seemed very certain of her. August knew that Percy would know what would make a good hero, and she hoped that she didn't let him down.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Percy, I'm sorry I shot you down. I hope we can put that behind us and move on." August said, extending her hand.

"Annabeth and I hold no grudges against you. We know you know what to do. Just remember to always think on your feet, you never know what's going to come after you next." Percy responded, shaking her hand.

"Well I best be off. Tell Nico and Leo thanks from me. I think they'll understand." August said as they walked out the door. Percy nodded, and the two of them made their way towards the big house.

Ed and Ariadne were already on the steps on the big house with their hiker backpacks when August arrived. Ed looked up from the book he was digesting (literally).

"And now ladies and gentlemen, our leader into the unknown. And by unknown I mean West Virginia." Ed said, high fiving her. Ariadne stood up and looked her in the eye.

"You ready?" She asked, looking for an answer in August's face.

"As I'll ever be. Well guys, it looks like our guide is here." August mentioned as she saw Argus waving to them. August felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around to see Chiron standing behind her.

"I have utmost faith in you that you can do this. If it helps, Percy was in much worse shape than you are his first time." Chiron said with a smile. Something told August he wasn't always so nice to first time demigods.

"I'll try and prove you right." August said. She looked over to see Ariadne and Annabeth talking, and Annabeth handed Ariande a bottle of sunscreen with an unusually high SPF. Ed was talking to Grover, the later of which handed Ed a set of read pipes. After everyone had said their final goodbyes, it was time to face the music. The trio hiked up the hill past the tree, threw their stuff in the van, and headed towards the train station where they would start their first real leg of the journey. Once in the van, Ed had passed out in the back, and Ariadne had taken to drawing something in her sketchpad, not looking like she wanted to have a cheery conversation about The Who or Mr. Poe. August, understanding that not everyone was a morning person like her, took her iPod out and put her headphones in.

The drive was lush and green, like it had been the first time August had driven through. As she watched the trees go by one after the other, she caught noticed of some odd creatures running by the van. They looked like golden Pegasi, from what August could see. They faded in and out of the tree shadows, only appearing in sunny areas. August wished she could ride one; they were fast and powerful on top of their beauty. She turned towards Ariadne to ask what they were.

"Arry, hey what on earth are those?" August pointed out the window at the golden horses.

"August, there is nothing out there." Ariadne responded, looking at August like she was crazy.

"What? Yes there are! Don't you see those clear golden Pegasi? They're so cool!" August watched as the winged horses ran van next to the van. There must have been at least two-dozen.

"Clear golden Pegasi? I've never even heard of anything like that existing before." Ariadne said, now looking like she was pretty sure August was crazy.

"How can you not see them? I know I'm not just seeing things." August was generally confused as to why she could see them and Ariadne couldn't.

"There's a lot of weird stuff out there August. I'm not saying you don't see them, I'm just saying that I don't and I've never known them to exist. It must have something to do with your lineage. Apollo did use Pegasi to carry his chariot before cars were invented. You never know what kind of creatures they are." Ariadne said, going back to her art. August watched the horses for a few more minutes, and then just as quickly as they appeared, they reared and took flight, disappearing into the sunlight. August was sad to see them go.

The van ride went in relative silence, save for Ed's snoring. Once they got to the train station, Argus handed them their tickets and unloaded their backpacks.

"Thanks Argus. We'll meet you back on top of the hill when we return. If we're not back by the 24th, let Chiron know to alert Percy." August said, looking up at the multi-eyed man. He nodded, and watched them board before leaving to go back to camp.

Once on board, August realized how unpopular a destination West Virginia was. Virtually no one was on the train, accept for a few lone strangers all looking unhappy and pale. Their compartment was empty save for the three of them. As they settled in, Ed went back to sleep and Ariadne went back to sketching. August took this as an opportunity for more music. Right as she was about to put her earbud in, Ariadne's hand stopped her.

"What's up Arry?" August asked smiling at her friend.

"I just want to talk I guess. You've been really quiet since we left. Is everything ok?" Ariadne asked, with a look on concern on her face.

"And here I thought that you were just tired and didn't want to talk. Yeah, I guess you could say that I'm kind of nervous. I mean, first I learn I'm a half blood; I get to camp for two weeks, and then BAM. Quest time. It's all a little sudden for me I guess." August leaned against the compartment window and watched the horizon, hoping to see the Pegasi again.

"What did they look like exactly? The pegasi I mean." It was like Ariadne could read her mind sometimes.

"They were pure gold, and they only showed up in the sun. Once they hit the shadows, they disappeared. And they were fast, they kept up with the van and we weren't going slowly. They made everything seem so peaceful." August kept watching the horizon as she talked. She felt Ariadne lean her head against her shoulder.

"It may be your dad saying everything will be ok." Ariadne said as she closed her eyes. August was a little flustered, as she was generally not the touchy feely type, and couldn't think of anything smart to say back.

"Lavender." August mumbled. It was the only thing that came to mind, considering the fact that Ariadne smelled like lavender soap.

"What?" Ariadne sounded a little bit weirded out by August's statement. She lifted her head up and looked at August and gave her signature "you're crazy" look.

"Uh… you smell like lavender soap." August's face burned. August had always had a way with words, and yet they had failed to come to her when she needed them most. To her surprise, Ariadne smiled and laid her head back down on her shoulder.

"And you smell like oranges." With that, Ariadne closed her eyes. August thought a nap looked like a pretty good idea herself, and did the same.

August's dreams were vivid, like they were real. In the first image, she saw Percy and several campers in both orange and purple shirts collecting things for battle and preparing supplies. Annabeth appeared next to him as he examined the progress.

"Do you think they'll be ok?" She asked him, watching as the troops prepared.

"I have a feeling that they're cut from the same cloth as us, and they can make it out just fine." Percy responded, picking up a shield with an interesting pattern on it and slinging it on his back.

"And what cloth is that?" Annabeth asked with a smile.

"I don't know, but I know it's tough and strong." He responded, walking through the crowd. Then, the dream shifted. August was now staring at an erupting volcano, spewing hot lava and ash into the air angrily. She saw a small figure approach the volcano like nothing was wrong, and ask it something inaudible. August couldn't make out who it was, or what they were asking, but the volcano was very audible in it's response.

"You've done well for yourself. I will not punish you because you failed to keep her in the west, she will return to me eventually." It bellowed. August's fear rose in her throat hearing the voice. She knew it belonged to Hyperion.

August woke with a start. Looking out her window, August saw nothing but pitch black. August felt fear setting all around her like in her dream, until she realized that they were going through a tunnel. She looked around the dimly lit compartment and saw Ed reading and eating a newspaper. When he noticed that she was awake, he looked up at her and winked. August didn't get what he was hinting at, until a familiar sigh from beside her reminded her that Ariadne was still passed out on her shoulder. August gave Ed a "really" look and rolled her eyes, aware of the fact that Ed was still Ed, quest or no quest. It had become a running in-joke between the two of them to rib each other about any sort of physical contact they had with another person, male or female. And by anyone or any contact, Ed took no prisoners. Ed smiled and bit off another corner of his newspaper. Just as he did, Ariadne sat up.

"Well that was a nice nap." She turned and looked at August. "Are you as thirsty as I am?" She asked.

"Yeah, I could totally go for an Orange Crush right now." August had indeed become thirsty since they got on the train whether due to nerves or the dryness of the train.

"I'll go to the snack bar to get some sodas. You want one, Ed?" Ariadne asked as she got up.

"I'll take an apple juice and some skittles." Ed responded, not looking up from his newspaper.

"Ok, I'll be right back." She opened the compartment door and walked out.

"Lavender?" Ed asked, looking at August.

"You know what? I think I'll join her. It's better than hanging around you." August said as she got up and opened the door. It didn't help her mood that she could hear as Ed laughed to himself as she walked out. Ariadne hadn't gotten far, and August caught up with her quickly.

"How long is this tunnel anyways?" August asked as she walked behind her friend.

"I'm thinking that it's pretty far. We've probably got another ten minutes before it ends. Why? Are you ok?" Either August was bad at hiding her nervousness, or Ariadne knew her too well.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need a soda and a snickers." August said as they made their way down to the caboose. Once in the caboose, there was no one there, save for a grumpy looking businessman and the cashier. August took out her wallet, and felt Helios weigh heavy in the bottom of her pocket. As they approached the vendor, August felt like something wasn't right.

"What'll it be ladies?" The cashier asked through his crooked teeth, a thick New Jersey accent coating his words. He was tall, buff and hairy, as well as pale. Ariadne gave him a sideways look, but continued on as normal.

"One diet Pepsi, an apple juice, an orange crush, a pack of skittles, a snickers and some mike and ikes please." The cashier watched with great scrutiny as Ariadne ordered. Once she finished, he nodded and turned away from them to collect the stuff. Once he had put everything down, the lights flickered.

"Don't worry girls, it's just what happens when we go through tunnels, nothing to worry about." The cashier said as she handed them their sodas and snacks. The total came to ten even.

"Yeah, yeah that's ok. So here's 10. Uh, thanks." August said, her nerves starting to act up. If the lights went out, they'd be in complete darkness.

"Yup, that'll do it." He said. As August gave him the ten, and Ariadne and her hurried back to their compartment with all the stuff. Once inside August chugged half of her soda.

"Slow down. I don't want you to choke." Ed said as he watched August down the neon orange fizz.

"Sorry, really thirsty." She responded, looking at the ground. She took out her iPod and looked at the clock. They had five more minutes until they reached the end of the tunnel, and August prayed that the lights wouldn't go out. August felt Ariadne's hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see those gray eyes looking very concerned.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" She asked in a comforting manner.

"Yeah why?" August asked, trying to play it cool.

"You look like you may pass out. We can't have that now can we?" Ariadne said, trying to divert August's nerves.

"What if all the lights go out?" August asked, genuinely freaked out at that possibility.

"Well you've got both of us by your side. Whatever happens next, we'll be right here." Ed said as he ate his skittles, bag and all.

"Hang on just a second." Ariadne said as she stood up on the bench seat and got into the overhead compartment and into her backpack. She pulled out a double knife sheath and attached it to her belt.

"Those are cool." August commented, her eyes focused on the sheath. Ariadne took one of them out. It wasn't made of Celestial bronze like her dagger, but of a very pure silver. The blade was about seven inches, and glittered in the light like a star.

"A gift from my mother. It's made of Lunar silver, the same kind of metal the Hunters of Artemis use for their knives. It's not that it's any better than Celestial bronze, but it certainly does have a nice shine to it." Ariadne put it back into its sheath, the sharpness ringing as it slide in.

"And the other one?" August asked, curious to know if it was the same.

"I was just about to show you." Ariadne said as she pulled the other one out. The other blade was identical to the first, but it was made of a pure yellow gold like metal instead of silver.

"A gift from Reyna, one of the head campers of the Roman camp. I had helped her design the Greek half of "New Rome" with Annabeth. That's where all the demigods go to college and settle down after if they choose to. We're working on getting a Greek sector, and Annabeth was put in charge as a head architect, with me as her assistant. This knife is made of the Roman equivalent to Celestial bronze called Imperial gold." The blade flickered like fire in her hand.

"Do they have names?" August asked. So far, all the weapons she encountered had had names put to them.

"Yes, this one's Nyxta." Ariadne said, pointing to the sheathed silver knife. August knew it was the Greek word for night. "And this one is Diem. It's Latin for day. I figured that they both deserved to be the ying yangs of each other both in meaning and in language. By the way, I've only ever seen you with that bow and fletch of arrows." She said pointing above her to where they rested with the rest of August's things. "Do you have a combat weapon of some sort?" August couldn't believe she hadn't ever shown Ariadne Helios. August took the blade out of her pocket.

"This is Helios. It was a gift from my father. Ordinarily, it looks like this." August hit the switch and extended the small switchblade. "But, it can also become this." She retracted the blade and stood up. Then, she swung the blade and extended it again, causing the full eighteen inches of dagger to appear. She flipped it around in her hand, the blade feeling perfectly balanced.

"Damn girl, that is a nice weapon you got there. Your dad loves you I can tell you that." Ed said as the blade caught his eye. August realized he had never seen Helios in its full form.

"That's pretty awesome I must say." Ariadne said as August looked at her reflection in its shine. Just as she retracted the dagger, the worst possible scenario happened; all the lights in the entire train went completely black. August's breath caught, her eyes searched for any form of light. Then, even worse. The train stopped moving all together.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?**

At this point, August was desperately trying to keep her panic from taking control, but then Ariadne's voice sounded through the pitch black.

"August, don't move." Ariadne instructed, and August felt her move to her right. August would have liked to answer if she could, but with the combination of darkness and the prospect of a fight, her brain wasn't functioning in terms of words. August heard Ed to her left.

"August, extend Helios! Celestial bronze glows bright even in the dark." He said. Right before August could make the move, they heard footsteps and ragged breathing. It got closer and closer. Just as it reached their compartment, the footsteps stopped, but the breathing continued. Ariadne's voice whispered next to August's ear.

"I know that this may not be the best time, but we're really going to need you to extend Helios now." Her voice was shaky and worried, not sure and confident like it usually was. Suddenly, like a sun rising on the horizon, August felt a huge surge of courage come form nowhere. She slipped her hand unto Helios's switch slashed. The bronze glowed brightly in the dark like miniature sun, lighting up the compartment. To the teams horror, a large hairy wolf like creature in the cashier's outfit with huge claws shielding it's face was in the door way. He howled and backed off, then ran to the next car. August should have been freaking out, but the light of her dagger and her new found courage urged her onwards.

"I'm right behind you August!" Ariadne's voice said as August dashed from one car to another. The sound of knives becoming unsheathed followed.

"What the hell kind of thing is that guy anyways?" August asked, not bothering to turn around.

"He's more than likely a werewolf." Ariadne responded.

"Werewolf? Are we talking full moon guys, the gnarly dudes from Underworld, the shape shifter dudes from Twilight or what?" August asked. They had reached the door to the other car, which looked like it had been clawed opened and jammed shut. "How sturdy is Celestial bronze?"

"It's very sturdy, but I'd use the hilt to damage the hinges, then break the door down with your body." Ariadne once again instructed, like she knew the door's weaknesses just from looking at it. "Back on topic, werewolves in Greek mythos went under several different kinds of rituals and sometimes punishments to become werewolves. This guy is probably a descendant, meaning his power probably comes from a long line of werewolves. He can more than likely control his transformations and use them at will. However, every transformation needs a limitation, which is usually time or light associated. That's why he needed pure dark, so he could transform." As Ariadne finished, August had already destroyed the hinges and was trying to break the door down.

"Let me help dude." Ed appeared behind Ariadne.

"Ed? Thank Gods you're here! Where's your weapon?" August asked. Ed pulled out his set of reed pipes.

"Now I know these don't look like much, but they're pretty darn magical. If I play a certain song, a certain type of magic happens. I happen to know a song that has been used for centuries by satyrs like me against carnivores that would try and eat us. It calms the beasts down long enough for us to escape." Ed explained.

"Perfect, now help me with the door." August was hardly listening. Her newfound courage had quickly given way to blind fighting rage. All she could think about while the three of them broke down the door was finding this wolf man and killing him. The second the door gave in, August rushed in.

"We know you're in here. Come to August!" August said, shining her dagger around the compartments. Ed and Ariadne followed close behind. Just as they made it halfway down the isle, the wolf man burst through a door two compartments ahead of them. He instantly recoiled at the light of August's blade and disappeared into a compartment. "Why doesn't it like light?" August asked, trying to make sure she had a viable weakness against her target.

"His wolf form is probably not used to ever seeing bright light, meaning his eyes can't handle it. This could be a useful advantage." Ariadne whispered to her two cohorts. As they crept along the ground to the compartment, August heard ripping sounds, and then the sound of clomping feet and a large body crash through the compartment door. She looked up to see the wolfman, now wearing a blindfold made of his old uniform vest, sniffing around with his ears pricked. August knew that if he couldn't stand the light of the dagger, he would resort to his other senses. August made the first move and slashed at the monster, but he heard the slash and backed off before it hit him.

"You fool! My ears will always hear you before you can make a move!" The wolfman had lost any form of an accent, and was now speaking an in intensely low growl. August swung again, and missed as he backed off again. August noticed that Ariadne had gotten behind him, which didn't seem possible; August hadn't even seen her move. Ariadne plunged one of her knives into his back, causing gold dust to come spilling out like rain, but it was obviously not far enough in. Unfortunately for Ariadne, the wolf was also incredibly fast. He retaliated with a deafening roar as he picked her up by the throat and threw her down the hallway.

"Oh that's it!" Now furious, August tried to swipe at him again, but he ducked and ran through the cars. Not paying attention to the wounded wolf at the moment, August raced over to Ariadne. "Oh crap are you ok?" August was worried that she may have broken something. Ariadne's fall was not light or soft.

"My… my rib really hurts. I hit the ground really hard on my left. It's hard to sit up." Ariadne's breathing had become jagged, and her sentences spaced out.

"This may hurt a little, but I need to tell if it's broken." August said, as she used her knuckles and ran them down Ariadne's rib cage. Ariadne winced and whimpered as August came across one that was definitely not in the right shape on the left side. "Ok, hold still for me. When I do this to myself, it usually feels tingly as the bone sets itself back. Take a deep breath and count to ten backwards." August said, and then she began to concentrate incredibly hard on the broken rib, and sang a prayer to her father that Will had taught her. Ariadne's breath caught as the rib corrected itself back into place. When it was done, both of them were out of breath.

"Dude, that was hard core." Ed said as he helped Ariadne sit up. As the three of them stood up, they heard the wolfman's ragged breathing in the other car.

"He's not going to kill himself then. Arry, you stay here. If anything else comes you scream for us as loud as you possibly can ok? Ed, follow me. I think we're going to need that tune of yours." August commanded her team. August knew that if she didn't make Ariadne promise to stay behind while her body continued to recover and let the bone rest, she would follow her into battle and get injured all over again. August didn't have that kind of energy to reheal on the fly like that.

"I'm only going to stay here if you promise me you two will come back safe." Ariadne demanded back. August and Ed nodded, and rushed towards the sounds of breathing in the caboose. The wolf once again lunged out of another empty compartment, and August ducked to the right.

"Look out!" August yelled as the wolf made a slash at Ed, and missed. August tried again, managing to hit him in the jaw with the butt of the dagger, looking like she may have broken it. The wolfman howled once more and sped off towards the caboose, August in tow. Once they got there, the wolfman was standing in the middle of the isle, obviously suffering from his injuries and waiting for them to make a move.

"I smell only the goat and the orange one and the goat. Where's the lavender girl?" The wolfman asked.

"I don't know, I thought you knew." August lied. She picked up a box of M&Ms from the counter, and flung them all over the floor. She knew that if she could scatter the sound, she'd have a better chance at attacking and hitting. The wolfman looked genuinely confused, and August swung. He moved fast, but it nicked his arm and sent more gold dust pouring out of him, like some sort of fairy blood.

"AARRGGG! YOU WORTHLESS DEMIGOD! I WILL SWALLOW YOU WHOLE BEFORE YOU EVER GET TO THE MASTER!" The wolfman swiped at August, who ducked and rolled behind the monster. August could tell that the wolf was getting progressively slower as his injuries leaked, and that now was the time to make the final moves. She jumped on to one of the benches and ricocheted off, coming down on the beast's head with her dagger. She had once again failed to get a full hit as he blocked her with his arm, but she felt the arm of the beast break underneath her force.

"What's wrong? Too strong for you?" August boasted as the wolf growled at his new injury.

"I'm not dead YET!" He yelled, swiping with his good arm. August rolled and jumped off another bench, slicing downward. The wolf was fast as he avoided yet another hit. However, August managed to gash the right side of his head. The wolf stumbled into a booth, his good arm full of outstretched claws catching August by the shoulder and throwing her to the ground.

"Now or never Ed!" August yelled, watching the wolfman stagger around from his wounds. Ed picked up his reeds and began to play a lullaby type of song. The wolfman's ears perked up, and he instantly started to slow down. August quickly stood up and grabbed Helios, trying to get her bearings in the dark back. She quickly regained control as she slashed left and right, up and down, as the wolfman tried to block. Slowly but surely, he started to sway against his will.

"What is this… music? I cannot control my… body…" The wolfman whined as he tried to fight back.

"Have a nice nap you walking carpet!" One last swing, and August caught him right in the temple. The wolfman promptly burst into a shower of gold dust, leaving behind a single fang in his place. August picked it up and examined it.

"Spoil of war." August turned around to see Ariadne standing behind her. "They get left behind when a monster is defeated. You should keep that; the first monster you defeat is a big milestone."

"Are you feeling ok? You really broke a rib back there!" August said, walking towards Ariadne.

"I'm fine, really. I'm just sorry I let that happen." Ariadne looked disappointed with herself in the light of the glowing bronze.  
>"Nah man, you did awesome! It wasn't your fault he chucked you. And as for you miss doctor, nice job!" Ed complimented both of them. Then, as if nothing had happened, the lights came back on.<p>

"Thank the Gods for that." August said, retracting Helios, and put the blade back into her front pocket. "Let's head back to our compartment for a nap shall we?" August said, looking at her two friends who nodded in unison. Between the fighting and healing, her energy was completely shot.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ed said, heading through the caboose door and down the hall to their room. August was just about to start walking when Ariadne grabbed her arm and turned her around so they were face to face.

"I don't know if you know how awesome you are, but you're pretty awesome." Ariadne said, smiling gratefully.

"All in a days work I suppose." August said, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Anyways, how about that nap?" Ariadne smiled as the two of them made their way back to the compartment.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Welcome to Paradise **

Just as the three of them had found their way back to their compartment, the train had started moving again. They had all instantly passed out into a heap on the same bench, too tired to spread themselves out. Ed had passed out against the window, while August had passed out sitting up against the opposite wall with her legs stretched out across the bench. Ariadne had taken up the lions share of room, with her head in August's lap, and her body and legs spanning both August's and Ed's bodies. Being someone who doesn't typically take naps during the day, August was the first to wake up. As she looked at her iPod, she saw that they had been asleep for four hours, leaving one more our to the trip. She situated herself as upright as she could without waking the other two, and had apparently failed when Ariadne's hand flew to her face and rubbed her eyes open.

"How much time left?" She groaned.

"About an hour." August responded, looking down at Ariadne. "Can you get up? I really have to pee." Ariadne sat up and moved her legs carefully off of Ed.

"Yeah, so do I. Let's go." Ariadne said as she stood up and stretched. After an uneventful trip to the bathroom that thankfully didn't involve wolfmen, August looked at herself in the mirror, and realized that fighting can really takes it's toll. She looked awful. Her eyes were bloodshot, she was pale, and she looked impossibly tired. In fact, she was so out of it that when Ariadne appeared beside her at the sink, August didn't even know she was there.

"I know exactly what we could use." Ariadne said as August almost jumped out of her skin. "Are you seriously still jumpy around me?"

"You're like a Greek ninja. You always manage to sneak up on me. Anyways, were you about to say Monster energy? Because I totally agree." August said, and then splashed cold water on her face.

"Nope, better. Follow me." Ariadne beckoned August along. As they got back to their compartment, Ariadne got her backpack down and unzipped the side zipper, and a small front zipper. Inside the side zipper was a thermos, and in the front was a small metal lunch box. Ariadne opened it up to what appeared to be small lemon squares.

"Those better have massive amounts of caffeine in them." August complained.

"Here, try one." Ariadne handed a yellow square to August. August looked at her warily before taking a bite.

"Holy crap." August said with her mouth full. "These taste exactly verbatim like my mom's homemade baked mac n' cheese." August instantly felt a million times better after swallow whatever it was she just ate. "What did you just feed me and will I die because of it?"

"It's ambrosia, the food of the Gods. No, it can't kill demigods in small doses. However, too much and it will literally cook you from the inside. If a mortal eats it, they burst into flames." Ariadne explained, pouring something from the thermos into the cup.

"Let me guess, nectar?" August thought the two must go hand in hand.

"Bingo. Try it." Ariadne handed the small cup to August. As she took a sip, it tasted like liquid green apple jolly ranchers. Just like her mom used to give her when she did well on tests. It was like liquid courage and adrenaline, and surged through her like a typhoon. August felt like she could do anything.

"Jolly ranchers. It changes from person to person doesn't it?" August asked, pretty sure that no one else would be as happy with green apple Jolly Ranchers as she was.

"Yes. Like for me, ambrosia tastes like the white pizza I get with my friends at this pizza place close to my school. We eat there a lot after big sporting events and such. And the nectar usually tastes like Vanilla Coke. My dad used to buy it for me whenever I was sad." Ariadne took a bite off of one of the squares and looked at August, obviously wondering something.

"What do yours taste like?" She asked finally.

"Stuff." August quipped back. Now that she was feeling better, she was in the mood to goof around. Ariadne punched her in the arm, and August chuckled and answered truthfully.

"Well my mom would only make her mac 'n cheese after my band and I used to play gigs. I mean, we're not amazing by any means, but after getting off stage, it's still a rush. So my mom would invite my bands mates over, and we'd eat mac 'n cheese and play video games all night. The Jolly Ranchers comes from the fact that my mom would give them to me when I did something good." August finished, and noticed Ariadne was still staring at her inquisitively. August would be damned if those eyes weren't trying to physically extract information out of her.

"What happened back there?" Ariadne asked, looking curious.

"What do you mean?" August said cocking her head to the side.

"Like the second you caught site of werewolf, it was like a switch got flipped. You became this fearless warrior." Ariadne said, giving August a confused look.

"I really don't know. It's like the second I knew that we were in trouble my fear got eaten up by anger and bravery. If it makes any more sense, seeing the light helped." August looked out the window again, not really knowing what she was looking for.

"I may be mistaken, but when you promised on the River of Stix, you promised to do everything in your power to keep us safe. Maybe the switched that got flipped was your instincts being commanded by that promise. The Stix is a pretty powerful river to swear on." Ariadne mused.

"Whatever happened, lets hope that I can make it happen again." August said, still staring out the window.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help during the battle. I'm not used to going up against monsters that big." Ariadne looked at August with a disappointed face.

"Why would you be sorry for something wolfman did? I don't blame you for anything. By the way, how's that rib doing?" August asked.

"It's just fine actually. The ambrosia didn't even have to fix anything because you did such a good job." Ariadne said as she smiled back at August. Suddenly, the conductors voice came on, waking Ed up and startling the two of them.

"This is the conductor, we hope your travels with us were satisfactory. We're just about to arrive in our final destination in West Virgia and we would like for you all to please take your seats at this time. Thank you!" The intercom shut down in a blitz of static.

"Have either of you ever been to West Virginia?" August asked her teammates.

"Nah bra, I only started this demigod scout thing three years ago when I was assigned to you. Only places I've been are New York and Cali." Ed said as he gathered his bag.

"I passed through while switching flights once. Never actually been outside the airport though." Ariadne said as she stood to get her bag from the top rack.

"Well let's hope that it's actually a nice place and not some hick filled state like it's always portrayed as." August slumped back down into her seat and stared out the window again.

"Still looking for the pegasi?" Ariadne asked.

"I know what I saw. I don't know what they were, or why I saw them and you didn't, but I saw them. I just wish I knew what it meant." August was frustrated that she couldn't figure out anything about these horses, and yet she could solve any symbolism handed to her. If it was a sign, she thought, it wasn't a very helpful one.

Unfortunately, West Virginia it was exactly like August thought it would be. The second they got out of the train station, they were greeted to a landscape of drab gray sky, run down shops, strip clubs, and bars. It was also completely dead with only a few pasty people walking around in sweats. This was like August's personal hell.

"Wow, this is totally awesome. Maybe I'll even buy a second house here." August deadpanned. "Arry, where on the map does it say we need to go to get to Hephaestus?" August asked, eager to make their time in West Virginia as short as it could be.

"The location Leo marked is in a very small mining town about sixty miles south of here called Ed something. Hang on, small print and dyslexia don't mix." Ariadne tried to focus her eyes on the town name, but then Ed stepped in.

"Edwight. Looks like it's a stretch of highway for thirty miles, then nothing but back roads from there. We'll hitch hike most of our way." Ed concluded. Ariadne rolled up the map and put it back in her bag.

"Hitchhike Ed? Really? Do any of us even know the first thing about hitchhiking?" Ariadne asked in an annoyed tone, obviously not happy with Ed's transportation choices.

"I sure do. I had to hitchhike most of my way to California to get to August." Ed said as he made his way down the sidewalk.

"You had to hitchhike to Cali? I thought half-blood would pay for travel at least." August said, surprised that he made it all the way to LA that way.

"Nope. Satyrs are in charge of getting to their assigned demi and getting them back safe, or as it went with me, keeping you safe. The only thing Half-Blood provides is the exact location." Ed responded as he continued walking.

"What if you don't like the demigod when you finally find them after that hard work?" Asked August. Ed and Grover seemed so nice that it seemed like they couldn't dislike anyone.

"I've never met a demigod I didn't like. Except for Ariadne. I hate her, she's a terrible person." Ed joked as he balanced himself on the curb.

"Ugh I know. No one likes her, she's such a weirdo." August teased, trying to keep a strait face and failing. Ariadne retaliated by a playful but strong shove.

"We only hang out with you because we didn't want to make you feel bad. Grunge is stupid, get a haircut." Ariadne said with a cocky smile.

"You're stupid." August knew it was a bad comeback, but couldn't think of anything else.

"Am not. I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible for my mother's kids to be stupid." Ariadne bragged as she shoved her again.

"No it isn't, we have you as proof." August responded through giggles. She faced Ariadne and grabbed a hold of her backpack straps. "If you shove me again we both go down." Instead of shoving, Ariadne grabbed the hood on August's shirt and flipped it over her friend's head, then pulled the cords.

"No light for you!" Ariadne said, imitating the soup Nazi from Seinfeld.

"Guys stop goofing off, I think I see a car coming." Ed said, taking no prisoners. August pulled her hood down and saw Ed standing in the street with his thumb out, and Ariadne looking almost mortified at the vehicle of choice. The car, which was a decent sized truck with the Rebel Flag on the back window and a camouflage paint job, slowed to a halt and rolled down its window to reveal a younger guy wearing a camouflage jacket and a baseball cap.

"Where you three headed?" He asked, an obvious wad of dip in his mouth.

"This may sound like a weird destination, but we're headed to Edwight. We were supposed to meet someone there for a uh, summer internship project for our camp, but we don't have a car." Ed explained.

"Well shoot I can get y'all about half way there. My names Gus, and I work in the town over from Edwight. I was jus' stoppin' in to visit some friends uh mine." Gus said with a friendly smile, which revealed a few gold teeth and a few more missing. "Hop in!" Ed got into the passenger seat while August and Ariadne clamored into the back. The trucked smelled like bacon and tobacco, but it beat walking.

"Oh hey cool! Is that a CB?" Ed asked looking at the tricked out dash Gus had installed into his car.

"It sure is my rasta man. Use it to talk to some 'o the truckers that run this strip." Gus explained picking up the speaker. August knew that Ed's weird out of species love for tech things would probably keep him occupied for a while. On the other hand, August wasn't happy that she would be trapped in yet another car for another span of time. Hoping to be entertained, she turned over to Ariadne, who had apparently found some old newspaper in the seat pocket of the truck and was folding it into different shapes.

"What are you making?" August asked, switching over to Greek as to not to disturb Ed's conversation. Ariadne threw her creation at August, hitting her in the forehead.

"Throwing stars. Malcom taught me how to make them." She said back in the same language, folding another one.

"See, I'm not wrong about you being a Greek ninja." August said as she smiled back at Ariadne. Ariadne rolled her eyes and went back to folding, though she seemed pleased with herself. Suddenly, August caught a glimpse of something yellow running outside the car. When she looked full on, she caught one of the pegasi jumping into the sun and flying off. "I saw another pegasi! I think they might be following me!" August could barely keep her Greek strait she was so ecstatic.

"You did? Is it still out there?" Ariadne was now equally ecstatic, looking out August's window trying to catch a glimpse.

"No, it flew away even before I could fully see it." August mumbled as she slumped down into her seat. She didn't understand what was going on, and it made her angry that they kept flying away.

"I still don't know what's going on, but I think it's a good omen." Ariadne tried to seem optimistic, but August could tell she was starting to lose hope. Ariadne and August continued their conversation, switching topics rapidly from anything from music, to books, to movies, to favorite foods all while August twirled a pen in her fingers and Ariadne doodled on August's jeans. Not that August minded; in fact, the beautiful Indian styled sun that Ariadne had drawn on her right thigh was more than appreciated. Soon, they reached a small town with nothing to its name but a diner, a hardware store, a bar, and a bus stop.

"This is as far as I can get'cha. I hope this'll do." Gus said as he helped the group with their bags.

"This will be just fine Gus, thanks!" August said as she swung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Thank you again dude, we don't have a ton of cash on us to tip you though." Ed dug out his wallet, but Gus stopped him.

"No need to pay me y'all, just bein' a good citizen. I hope y'all find what yerr lookin' fer." With that, he hoped back in his truck and drove off.

"Let's get some food. I've heard a rumor that country folk make awesome home cooking." Ed said as he led the others towards the diner. August and Ariadne didn't protest. As they walked inside, only a few lone truckers and an old waitress were inside.

"So we just seat ourselves then yeah?" August asked as the trio walked in.

"Sure thing honey. I'll be right with you in a second." The waitress said as she wiped her hands on her apron. As the three of them sat at a booth and ordered, August realized it was still early in the day. They had left at 7am, after six hours on the train and another car ride, it was only 3pm. Daylight was still abound, and they could possibly make the mines by sundown. That thought alone helped August's confidence.

"So, we've got plenty of sunlight to make it to the workshop, and then it's onward to LA yeah? This shouldn't be so bad." August mentioned as she examined her fork, which was bent in an awkward position.

"August, look at the TV." Ariadne was looking at the TV behind August's head, her face stunned. Ed stopped chewing his napkin mid bite as he looked up. All August saw was a raging forest fire in California.

"Guys, those happen a lot in Cali. It's because it gets so dry and the winds pick up around this time. Yeah it sucks for the people living up in the hills, but the fire fighters do their best to put them out in time." August explained as she turned around.

"No August, look closer. There's something weird about those fires." Ed said, pointing to the screen. This time, August noticed the flames moving in a weird pattern. They jumped and moved fluidly unlike regular flames that lunged and cracked with intensity. August watched closer, and noticed a mouth, ears, and claws. It was almost like a large beast was roaring to life within the flames, engulfing everything it touched.

"It's looking for me." August said, face blank starring at the TV. "It knows I'm coming for its master."

"You said these happened often though." Ariadne said, looking at the screen and then back at August.

"Not like this. That's something I've never seen a fire do in my life. Whatever that thing it, it's angry and it's looking for something." August's face went stolid. She knew that Hyperion knew about her quest, and that it wasn't going to be easy for her to get past his minions. Once they're food came August was so fixed on thinking about how to get passed the fire lion once they got to California, she didn't notice it had gotten there until her stomach reminded her.

"So how do you manage to kill fire?" Ed asked between bites of salad. August swallowed a massive bite of BLT before answering.

"I have no idea. I'm sure we will think of something, but for now let's concentrate on getting to Hephaestus and getting that armor." August responded, taking another bite.

"You eat like a plebian." Ariadne said, looking up from her omelet in time to see August's dinosaur sized bites. August responded with a certain finger in the air. Ariadne rolled her eyes. "Real mature there, Auggy."

"After lunch, let's hit up the hardware store. Rule number one about Half-blood travel; camping is your friend." Ed said as he looked out the diner window towards the hardware store. August and Ariadne agreed.

The hardware store proved to be a haven for supplies. August had managed to find easily rolled sleeping bags, a fire starting kit, a tarp, bug spray, and a few new arrows to add to her fletch. Ariadne had taken to the maps and navigation section, gathering a road map, compass, and a notebook and pens. Ed on the other hand found stuff for s'mores. August couldn't complain about that. As soon as they were finished in the town and started making their way to Edwight, August looked at the time. 4:30PM, which meant sundown was in three and a half hours.

* * *

><p>Kind of a set up lot of talking chapter, sorry about that. So a new thing I'm starting is posting some random facts for your reading enhancement, because I thought you guys might like to know some of my thoughts that went into writing some of the characters. 5 facts per update, until I run out.  
>- Ariadne's name is pronounced ar-ee-ahd-nee. You can hear it spoken in the movie Inception, because Ellen Page's character has the same name (which I didn't know until after I gave Ariadne her name. Turns out the character in the movie was named for the same reason's I named Ariadne. Weird story bro.)<br>- Each character's looks came from a musician for inspiration. These aren't exact and you shouldn't treat them as such, but they give you somewhat of a general idea. Ed's inspiration came from a fanart I found of a teenage version of Pickles from Dethklok; whenever I picture Ariadne's facial expressions and build, musician Lindsey Stirling comes to mind (look her up, she's awesome); August herself looks a little like a young Avril Lavigne (think more "Sk8r Boi era).  
>- August's middle name has a very dark comedy origin. Go look up "The Donner Party." It's an inside joke I have with my friends because I actually have relatives who are direct descendants from the original Donners.<br>- I was working with a friend of mine, who is also a writer, on brainstorming the fan fic weeks before I ever started writing it. To help guide the character's personalities, we listed down what they're favorite foods would be. August, bacon; Ariadne, sushi; Ed, grilled cheese. We also picked favorite movies. August, This Is Spinal Tap; Ariadne, The Prestige; Ed, Blade Runner.  
>- A small detail I opted to omit was that Ariadne was originally supposed to always be wearing the ring her father gave Athena, but Athena turned it away because she knew that they could never be together forever. I left this out because of the fact that I reread <em>The Lightning Thief<em>, where it explains that Annabeth wears her father's college ring because it holds a similar meaning.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The Cave**

It took the trio one more hour of walking, and another twenty minutes of a hitchhiked car ride to get to Edwight. The town, if you could call it that, was completely barren and small, much like the town they had just been in. However, a large back road with a sign over it that said COAL MINERS ONLY marked that they were in the right place.

"Wow, this is something." Ed remarked as they looked around at their surroundings.

"You're telling me. Well, no use sticking around here, let's get a move on." August said, eager to get to the workshop before the sun went completely down.

"Ok fine, but don't you think we should stop and ask for directions first?" Ed mentioned before August could take off.

"Ask directions to a large scale workshop for a Greek God? How would that go over in a Baptist town like this? The road leads to the mine, which will more than likely lead us to the God. After that, we just have to get to him, and ask him for a favor." August argued, not wanting to waste more time.

"August has a point, Ed." Ariadne agreed, looking at the large sign. "Lets start walking and see where that road takes us."

"Alright fine, but if we get lost it's all August's fault." Ed complained as he started down the road next to August.

"It's my quest dude. Whatever happens on it was be my fault. Guilty by association as they say." August remarked, leading her friends down the path. The world had already gone gold and orange in the late afternoon sun to August's great displeasure, which would only make it harder to find the workshop in the long run if they didn't make it their before dark.

"What's this workshop of his look like anyway?" Ed asked, still skeptical.

"It's supposed to be down this certain area of the mine. I'm pretty sure the entrance is about four hundred yards in." Ariadne guessed pointing at the map she had rolled out.

"Oh that's cool. Caves are totally my thing with all their dampness, darkness, and closed spaces." August grumbled sarcastically.

"They're not my thing either dude." Ed agreed, now looking even more distressed. "Satyrs and caves were never supposed to go together. The underground is a Cyclops thing."

"Look, we're not staying underground. We go in, talk to him, get out. After it's all done, we can make our way west." Ariande said as she rolled the map back up. The path wasn't as long as they had anticipated, but long enough. By the time they had reached the mining station, it was seven.

"Alrighty, now which way." August looked at all of the mining stations and apparent entrances, hoping to see a sign that would point them in the right direction.

"Leo wrote something in the foot notes. The entrance has apparently been blocked off, because the heat that comes from his workshop is mistaken for natural gases. Look for an entrance that's been blocked." Ariadne threw her backpack in the bushes, and started looking around at the different entrances. Ed and August took note and did the same. As they explored, they found that there were five main cave entrances, and all of them were clear and unblocked. However, Ed had come across a small dirt path leading to what looked to be another section of the mine.

"Nothing to lose if we follow it and we're wrong." Ed said, leading the other two down the path.

"Except a limb to an angry miner." August mumbled, still skeptical. Thankfully at the end of the path, they had hit their mark. A large cave entrance with boards crossing over the mouth, and an orange sign that was marked DANGER hung over it. August could feel the heat coming out of the tunnel as they approached it. She unsheathed Helios for light, and headed towards the entrance as another surge of courage bolted through her as she admired the light of the blade.

"Alright, as I've said before, stay close. Remember, whatever happens we've got each other's backs." August reminded them as she kicked in one of the boards that crunched with surprising ease.

"Roger that. Lead the way Beakon." Ed let her in first, following in after her. Ariadne took up the back as they headed into the cave. It was damp, dark, and cramped just like August thought it would be.

"So do we know exactly where we're going here?" August asked, unsure of where to turn next.

"Let me up front, the map said head south to a dead end." Ariadne made her way to the middle, still letting August lead because of the light source. They marched in the directions that Ariadne gave, going left and right, deeper and deeper into the caves. Suddenly, they hit a fork in the tunnels with two odd creatures, about three feet high, sitting at the fork. They looked like a cross between a house elf from Harry Potter and a gnome. August was in no mood to negotiate, but Ed thought otherwise.

"Uh… can you help us?" Ed asked the two creatures.

"What am I looking at?" August asked flatly, not sure what to do next.

"_Kobalos." _Ariadne said, looking at the two gnomes in minor disgust. "They're the trickster imps of the Greek mythos."

"Not so fast young'n." The first one said in a raspy, tinny voice.

"We prefer _riddlers _if you will." The second one said in an equally awful tone.

"We will tell you which way to the God," The first one started.

"But which one tells the truth, and which the lie?" The second one finished. August cracked her knuckles.

"Well one of you is telling us the correct way or I'm unleashing my can of whoopass on both of you." August threatened, stepping closer. The two creatures suddenly shifted into horrible looking creatures that looked like a mix between a chiuaua and an iguana. "That's not so much scary as it is disgusting." August deadpanned, looking at the two kobalos, unsure of what to do next.

"One question! If you ask the wrong one, we'll bite you." The second one growled.

"Try me you little shit." August threatened, pointing her dagger in the face of the imp. Just as August was about to strike, Ariadne stepped beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Augustine," she said in a formal manner. August was a little shocked to here her real name, but knew Ariadne meant business. "Allow me." Ariadne stepped forward and eyed the two creatures warily. She turned to the first one.

"What would you're partner's answer be to the question 'which tunnel do we take to get to Hephaestus?'" She asked it, cocking an eyebrow. The small creature looked furious, but took a deep breath and answered.

"He would say to take the left tunnel." It sneered. "Foul half-blood." It grumbled as Ariadne smirked.

"Alright then, to the right it is." Ariadne instructed. August and Ed didn't argue as they continued on they're way.

"And don't think we will help you anymore!" August heard one of the imps scream as they continued on.

"Explain to me how you knew to ask that." August said, amazed once again at Ariadne's brainpower.

"It's a simple riddle. If I were to ask the truth telling one, he'd tell me what the liar would say. If I had asked the liar, he would had lied and told me the opposite of what the truth teller would say." Ariadne explained with a smile. August accepted the answer, and they continued their decent into the caves.

They only hit a snag once more when they almost ran into a large spider in her web, and Ariadne almost had a heart attack. Once Ed dispatched of it, they continued on to a dead end of nothing but dirt wall.

"And then what?" August asked, unsure how a dead end meant something good.

"You have to make an offering of some sort of magic based metal, perhaps that gear made of Celestial Bronze Leo gave you." Ariadne offered. August reached into the side pocket of her backpack where everything Leo, Annabeth, and Nico given her were safely tucked away, and brought out the cog. August looked at the wall, unsure of where the cog should go.

"Do I just put this anywhere or is there some specific slot?" She asked, trying to figure out the puzzle.

"Just put it up against the wall and see what happens." Ed suggested, shrugging his shoulders. August didn't get it, but she didn't see another choice. She took the cog, and placed it flat against he wall. At first, nothing happened, and August felt stupid. But then, what felt like a small earthquake ripped the wall down and revealed a large workshop. Metal pieces of glowing armor and weaponry adorned the walls, huge tools laid about in large piles, and a huge furnace burned in the back, obscured by an eight-foot tall wall of a man. He turned around to face the new guests, his beard and hair brown and sparking, his eyes a rusty brown, and his muscles rippling underneath tanned leathery skin. His leg was in a brace, and he looked like a misshapen man made of clay. August would have found him threatening, but somehow he didn't seem like the kind of god to haul off and kill people.

"State your full first and last names, and business." Hephaestus asked in a gruff, deep voice.

"Edwood Hedgecliff." Ed sputtered out, looking like he may faint.

"Ariadne DeLonge." Ariadne seemed to be holding up much better than her satyr companion.

"Augustine Beakon. We're here on behalf of a need for a quest, and we have a recommendation from your son." August finished, taking out the dog tag. Hephaestus walked over towards them, shrinking to normal man size as he walked, though still quite large. He took the tag and turned it over in his hand.

"Leo sent you huh? Well then I guess you guys must have a good reason for interrupting my work. What is it that you need?" He asked, impatient to get back to his projects. Ariadne started to explain to him why they were in his workshop.

"We're on a mission for the Gods to defeat…"

"I know the quest, daughter of Athena." Hephaestus boomed, causing the trio to take a step back. "You don't think that if the sun gets taken over that I don't get affected? Just because I'm underground doesn't mean the sun doesn't play a part in my work. Where do you think the fire comes from for my shops? My fires all come directly from the sun, and take mass amounts of fuel to keep alive. It's very hard to create my machines with the fire directly from the sun, let alone fire that would be created here. If Hyperion hoards it for himself, my life's work is no more. I'm going to ask you again, what do you need?" As he finished, August stepped up.

"We need heat proof armor. We hear you've only ever made one set, and that was for my father. Do you think you could make three sets for two demigods and a satyr?" August asked, not willing to take no for an answer. Hephaestus looked at her for a second, as if he was sizing her up.

"You've got some nerves of steal coming down into these caves where there's no light. Usually, kids from your father wouldn't be caught dead here. I'll make you three a deal, because I need Hyperion taken care of. I'll make you the armor, but you need to locate me the ore to make it. The metal is called Solar iron, and there is apparently a large deposit of it located in the Grand Canyon. Find it, mark it with this flag, and light the flag on fire so I can sense where it is. After you've done that, I will make you the armor that you seek." He instructed, seeming more amused than angry, though still stern. "However," He continued, "It won't be easy to get to the ore. Large Cyclops that want it for themselves, and all of the their minions heavily guard it. You will have to fight for it, but it's the only way you can defeat Hyperion." Hephaestus tossed August a rolled up deep red flag.

"Seriously?" August asked, not happy that they would be making yet another stop.

"You either do this for me, or you find someone else to make you the armor. Oh wait, you can't!" Hephaestus eyed August, giving her a look of distain.

"Fine, we'll do it. But you must keep your end of the deal." Ariadne interjected, trying to keep the peace.

"Very good. Well, off you three go, it's getting late. I'll meet you three when you find me that ore." Hephaestus turned back to his bench to continue working.

"We'll be there." August said, tucking the flag into her backpack. Hephaestus turned back around and looked Ariadne in the eyes, giving her a small smile.

"You, DeLonge. Tell your mother I said hello." He said, and then went back to his metal. Ariadne looked perfectly mortified, and August knew she would be asking questions later.

"You sure we can do this?" Asked Ed as they exited the shop. The wall built itself back up behind them like a jigsaw puzzle.

"We don't have a choice now do we?" August responded, annoyed and frustrated. Things were not going according to plan at all.

* * *

><p>Yay! Updating because updates are fun and such! Oh, and time for some more trivia.<br>-I originally wanted August to be a gamer. That didn't pan out in the final drafts.  
>-August's mom was supposed to be remarried, but I couldn't think of a good character bio for the stepdad, so I skipped him.<br>-Ed's full first name is an allude to a really so-bad-its-good B movie director, Ed Wood.  
>-Ariadne's last name is supposed to sound familiar to all of you 90's pop-punk fans.<br>-When I was writing this chapter, the song "firework" was stuck in my head. I have no idea why, and now every time I re-read this chapter, it gets re-stuck


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Is It In My Head?**

Entering the cave, talking with Hephaestus, and exiting the cave took much longer than August had anticipated. Once they were out, August saw that it was already dark, and the sky had lit up with the moon and thousands of stars.

"Well, looks like we're now en route to Arizona." August said as they walked back to the bush where they had left their bags.

"Have you ever been?" Ariadne asked.

"Once on a cross country trip in my mom's RV. It's actually very pretty. However, we're not going their to take in the scenery. What's the best way to get there?" August asked, slinging her backpack on.

"Hitchhiking. Most def, unless you can find enough money for a plane ticket." Ed said looking at the road map Ariadne had pulled out.

"The roads and highways seem pretty strait forward. It shouldn't be too hard to hitchhike. We could also bus part of the way." Ariadne said, marking the roads with a pen. "Right now, we should make camp for the night."

"Why? It's not that late." August asked, looking at her iPod. To her shock, it was midnight.

"The Gods usually have a spell that slows down time in their mortal dwellings. What may seem like fifteen minutes in their world is really hours in ours. It's so they can continue to work and their normal pace without having to worry about the mortals finding them." Ariadne explained. "We can make camp in the woods. We'll get up early, and set out to the Canyon."

"But we slept all day and ate ambrosia. I'm not tired." August complained. She was actually exhausted, but she didn't want to stop and waste time when they had to be traveling. Not to mention sleeping outside, in the dark, with monsters anywhere and everywhere was not something she was happy about doing.

"August, we may have napped on the train, but we fought a werewolf, walked almost nine miles, hiked through a dark nasty cave and back, as well as travel for a full day. Don't lie to me and say you're not tired." Ariadne responded, obviously seeing through August's disguise. "We'll set up camp and take turns being on watch."

"Fine. You win." August said, following Ed and Ariadne into the woods.

They walked for a bit before they reached a clearing, where they laid out the sleeping bags and started a fire. Once they had settled down, August felt her entire body shudder at how tired it actually was. She looked up at the stars, and wondered if she could take days on end of this without giving out. As she thought about upcoming events, she turned over on her side to watch the fire. Across from her, Ed was busy learning another song on his reed pipes that sounded strangely like a Who song, and Ariadne was busy drawing something in her notebook. August watched the top of the flames dance off into the dark night sky, being swallowed up and spitting out sparks. She could have sworn she saw faces dance through the flames. As much as she tried to keep her gaze on the fire, August was continuously drawn back to Ariadne. It had been a fast and furious few weeks together, and yet August felt like she had known Ariadne forever. Then again, if what Ariadne had told her about reincarnation and the underworld one lesson, they very well may have known each other before. Before August could look away, Ariadne caught her staring.

"What are you looking at?" She asked across the fire, giving August another weirded out look. Thinking on the fly, August decided to ask what Hephaestus meant.

"What did Hephaestus mean by 'tell your mother hi for me?'" August asked, genuinely curious even though it was a cover up. Ariadne turned away from the fire like she was remembering an embarrassing moment in family history.

"Do you know the legend of Erichthonius of Athens?" Ariadne asked, not looking August in the eye. August shook her head. She had never been taught that legend in school or by anyone at Half-Blood. "Ok, well it's uh… complicated, and weird." Ariadne shook her head and gave a sort of embarrassed smile. "At one point during ancient times, my mother went to Hephaestus to ask for weaponry, which is pretty typical. Anyways, Athena is known to be very striking looking. Well Hephaestus was very taken by her, and wanted to uh… forcefully take her V-card in a sense." Ariadne paused, looking like this was horribly awkward.

"He tried to rape her didn't he?" August finished, aware of how Greek Gods worked sexually. Ariadne nodded.

"Pretty much. She ended up fighting him off and throwing his seed on the ground, which created Erichthonius of Athens from the earth. Athena and Hephaestus are on pretty good terms now though, surprisingly." Ariadne went back to her sketching, looking like she wanted to avoid the topic. August didn't blame her, and moved on.

"Is drawing something you do because of you or because of your lineage?" August asked, watching Ariadne work with the pencil.

"A little of both actually. My mother is good at arts and crafts type art, but drawing can be that too I suppose. I started drawing when I found out I was dyslexic. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say." She continued working without looking up.

"Can I see?" August asked, now immensely curious.

"When it's done." Ariadne still wasn't looking up. August was annoyed with the response, but rolled over on her back and starred up the stars. She felt her eyes grow heavy, but before she could fall asleep, she remembered the dream she had on the train. She had no idea what it meant, or if they happened often, or if it would happen again. August felt weird asking, but she needed answers.

"Do demigods normally have weird dreams?" August asked, trying not to sound weird. Ariadne thought for a moment like she was trying to decide what to say, and nodded.

"Yes, very often. Especially during times of danger like wars and quests, they do. Did you have one on the train?" Ariadne seemed to know the answer, but August went into depth explaining everything that happened, from the Roman camp to the Volcano. When she was finished, Ariadne seemed pensive.

"It seems like you've had a spy amongst your presents before. We'll keep an eye out for anyone who seems to be against you. Do you have any ideas as to who it might be?" Ariadne was looking not at August, but into August, searching for an answer. August honestly had no idea.

"No, no I don't. Everyone I've ever known has been actually kind of nice to me. Go figure." August racked her brain for an answer.

"I figured." Ariadne was still looking into August, making her turn away. She looked back for a second to see Ariadne put her sketchbook down and walk over to sleeping bag, sitting down next to her.

"You're blocking the stars you know." August complained. Though it was true, August in this instance actually didn't mind giving up the view of the night sky.

"Wrist please." Ariadne asked. August pick up her arm and held it up to Ariadne. Ariadne took out a tightly and intricately woven leather bracelet and tied it around August's wrist. The leather was in three different strands, all different colors. One was white, the other an orange yellow, and the last one was a light blue.

"Whoa, you made this?" August was amazed as she examined the craftwork, which was very delicate and intricate. There would be no way August could ever make something like that.

"Yes, I did. I would give Ed his but…" Ariadne turned around to where Ed's sleeping bag was to see him passed out, hugging his read pipes. It constantly amazed August how fast Ed could pass out.

"It's absolutely amazing. Thank you." August said, still trying to figure out how Ariadne got the weaving so tight. She looked up at Ariadne, who looked a little sheepish.

"You're welcome. I had a hard time finding the right blue, but I think it's close enough." Ariadne stood back up and walked back to her sleeping bag and sketchbook.

"What were you going for?" August asked, unsure of any imperfections in the bracelet.

"Your eyes." Ariadne answered in a matter of fact tone as she went back to her drawing. August felt her face heat up and thanked the Gods the fire did a good job of covering that. Ariadne looked back up at August. "I can take first watch tonight. I'll wake Ed up for second and you can take third."

"It's cool, I can take first if you're tired." August said, sitting up.

"August, I'm taking first watch. You've done a lot today, get some sleep." Ariadne commanded, motioning August to lie back down. August didn't argue as she unzipped her sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep.

August found herself in Half-Blood, watching Leo and the Aphrodite councilor Piper talking, both of them in worried hushed tones.

"I don't think it's super serious. California goes under wild fires all the time." Leo said as he read over a newspaper with the wildfires headlining.

"Of course it's serious, Leo! Innocent people are dying because he's trying to find August! If they don't do something, the west coast will go up in flames! Jason and Percy are both over there!" Piper argued, obviously unhappy.

"Give them a chance, Piper. I'm sure that they'll do just fine on the quest." Leo said as the vision began to change. August now found herself in a great conference room that looked like it might be at the Roman Camp. Several people August had never seen before, including a tough but kind looking blonde haired boy with a small scar on his upper lip and a tall, dark skinned girl with a powerful posture sat around a table wearing togas, which August would have thought silly if the tone of the conversation didn't seem so serious. August noticed that Percy and Annabeth were one of the several, all deep in conversation.

"We can't let them go up against the Titan alone. I doubt they can handle the wild fire beast by themselves, let alone a Titan! It will destroy everything!" The dark skinned girl argued.

"Reyna, we need to give them a shot. The prophecy has been spoken, and we need to respect that." Annabeth responded in an even tone.

"I agree with Annabeth. Greeks can do just as good a job as Romans can, and who's to say that this will end badly?" The blonde boy agreed, leaning back in his chair.

"We have the troops ready incase anything happens before the big battle. They know we're here in case something comes along. Just be on guard and let the trio work." Percy said as he leaned across the table, making sure Reyna heard the order.

"If they fail, it's on your hands Percy Jackson." Reyna did not seem happy with the decisions that were made. Then, the vision shifted again. August felt heat and like she was running. She saw flames all around her, burying and burning everything they touched. Loud roars ripped through her head, almost as if she were in the mouth of a great beast. Then, almost like a telepathic link, she heard a voice in her head.

"I will find you Augustine! I will find you and kill you for my master!" It bellowed in a deep, animalistic tone. As it continued its rampage, the vision faded out into one last vision. This one made August incredibly happy to see. Three of the golden Pegasi sped through a forest, flickering in and out of the light. They dashed about, and leapt as they ran. August felt her insides soaring along with them, and felt at peace with everything. A final voice popped into her head.

"Three of the finest. Stay safe." It said, and August knew it was her father. Everything started to fade to white.

August sat up, sweaty and shaking as she saw Ed looming over her.

"You were having a lot of weird dreams. Do you want to do your watch, or sleep some more?" He asked, looking at her with worry and comfort.

"You go back to bed. I don't think I can go back to sleep right now." August said as she sat up. August looked at her iPod, which stated six AM, meaning the sun would be in full bloom soon. As she watched the world around her, She felt a mixture of fear and happiness. Fear, because she knew how the mixed reactions towards her, and the fact that a Titan was trying to kill her, but happy because she knew the horses were real. As she looked around, she saw the sun rising in the east, a sliver of orange fire in the distance. Ed had passed out rather quickly; his snoring sounded through the early morning like a saw. Ariadne, on the other hand, had buried herself into her sleeping bag and was no longer visible. The only signal she was still in there was the steady up and down breathing coming from it. August smiled watching the steady breathing, but caught herself and shook her head.

"What's wrong with me?" She mumbled. She was catching herself doing things like that more and more it seemed. She settled herself into a bundle, using her sleeping bag like an odd cocoon. The world was peaceful, just the way August liked it. She looked down at her wrist, admiring her new bracelet.

"Wrong blue? I'd say this is pretty damn close." August thought to herself. As she fiddled with the leather, a glimmer caught her eye. She looked up, but saw nothing.

"And now I know I'm going crazy. Awesome." She mumbled to herself, and looked back down at her wrist. The sun was getting higher in the sky, slowly but surely as the morning went on. August kept herself occupied for about an hour, listening to music, playing Angry birds, and polishing up Helios. Around seven, the glimmer caught her eye again. As she looked up, she caught the distinct shape of a horse face at the east edge of the campsite.

"So you've been watching me eh?" August stood up and faced the direction of the glimmer. The wind blew, pulling the branches of the trees apart so the sun shown through. To August's surprise, three Pegasi figures immerged, and then disappeared when the wind stopped.

"Three of the finest…" August whispered. She stood there, debating on whether or not to approach them, which would risk having to chase them, and stay with her friends and protect them. As she stood and watched the faint glimmers her obsession got the best of her, and she took a step forward.

* * *

><p>Holy crap! The updates are coming your way pretty fast if you haven't already noticed! Also, for fans of my other fic, Annabeth Chase Vs. The Internet, stay tuned. Updates will be coming sooner than March it looks like. No trivia for right now. This chapter was rather easy for me to pump out.<p> 


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: We Are Golden**

Just as August feared, the glimmers took off in a sprint of wind. August dashed off after them, only able to see them by the faint beams of golden light they gave off every so often. Ducking under trees, jumping over logs and rocks, rolling through trips, and dodging branches, August kept her pace, only getting close enough to feel them race by. Just as she thought she couldn't keep up any longer, they reached a clearing.

The sun was bright in the sky, and the clearing gave way to the most beautiful sunrise August had every seen in her life. It lit up the world around her, drenching everything in orange yellow light. This was August's favorite time of the day. Just as she remembered her reason for going so far into the woods, she looked over her shoulder to see the three glimmers now visible as full translucent Pegasi.

"I thought I'd never catch up to you." August breathed, taking a step closer towards the trio. She remembered what Butch had said about Pegasi, and that they tend to scare easily, but once broken they will remain loyal until no longer needed. She could make out the trio in front of her faintly, and came to the conclusion that there were two stallions and one mare.

"May I touch you?" She asked the middle one. Normally, August would find herself incredibly stupid for asking an animal a question, but recently, things weren't going normally. The middle Pegasus stepped forward, stopping a few feet away from August. August knew it was now or never, and reached out her hand to touch the Pegasus. Just as her hand met the snout, the horse erupted into solidity, like someone dumped a bucket of paint onto a figure of a horse. His hair filled into a brilliant, glittering orange gold, a white stripe ran down from his main to the tip of his nose, and his mane and tail were a faint yellow-white, flowing in the wind like flickering rays of sun. August was speechless as the creature watched her through warm brown eyes, as if to be analyzing her, but not in a judgmental way. She instantly knew that this stallion was hers, yet another gift from her father. She kept one hand on the Pegasus and circled him, admiring his balance of strength and speed. He wasn't too big, and he wasn't too small; he was a nice in between. As she came back around, one name came to mind for the stallion.

"Anatolios." August whispered, a name meaning "sunrise." August made a full circle around him, ending back in front of his snout. The Pegasus stamped his feet and spread his magnificent wingspan at the name, and August laughed to herself knowing that he liked it. She had almost forgotten about the other two until the glimmers got closer to August, and stopped on either side of Anatolios. August reached out her left hand, and touched the snout of the second Pegasus. Just like Anatolios, the second one filled in with color, but in a more fluid wave like manner. This one was a mare, smaller in muscle but lighter and more than likely faster. She was a solid pale yellow with a longer white mane that flowed in a similar fashion to Anatolios's mane. August looked at the mare, who looked back at her in a more curious manner than Anatolios had.

"I know a friend who's going to love you. I will call you Aurora. Do you like that?" August asked, stroking the snout of the mare, who whinnied in approval. August smiled and moved on to the final third Pegasus. As she touched his snout, he filled in like someone pouring water into a glass. His hair was a pale blue, like the sky, and his mane was white like the mares. His fetlocks were unshorn as well as his face, giving him a goatee. August smiled at the resemblance to Ed.

"And you shall be Ouranos. Is that good?" The Pegasus huffed in an annoyed fashion.

"To formal? Ok, how about Ammon then?" The Pegasus spread his wings and whinnied with approval at that. August rolled her eyes, knowing Ed and Ammon would be getting along just fine.

"Anatolios, will you please take me back to my friends? I'd like to introduce all of you." August asked, putting her hand in Anatolios's mane. He nickered and nodded as he knelt down to let her on. She climbed onto his back and held on with her legs and hands in his mane. He whinnied loudly, and took off into the sky with the other two following close behind.

August had never felt better as she soared through the sky, banking and diving on the back of her newfound friend. Flight felt right to her, as if she was born to do this. They swerved and banked low, sending a creek splashing into the air as they approached it.

"Best! Present! Ever!" August yelled as they continued their flight. Just as it was getting awesome, they prepared land in the campsite where her two friends were awake and packing. As they landed, Ed was the first one to catch site of them.

"Oh my unholy land lord. I was totally wrong about you running of into the woods to pee." Ed said, dropping his bag and jaw. Ariadne looked up from rolling up her sleeping bag, and promptly stood up, eyes and mouth wide.

"I… I mean you seem to have… those are like really um… well damn. I think you may have found your golden Pegasi." Ariadne stammered over her words, obviously shocked that August had returned with such a find. August giggled at the fact she could turn Ariadne's usually semi-formal speech into a stammering mass of incoherent words.

"Yup, I sure did. One for each of us in fact! Ariadne, this is Aurora." August said, hopping off of Anatolios and patting Aurora. Ariadne walked up next to August and tentatively put her hand out to touch the Pegasus. Aurora finished the transaction, putting her snout into Ariadne's outstretched palm.

"She's beautiful. Really, she is. Did they come from your father?" Ariadne asked, not turning away from her newfound friend. August nodded.

"Yes, they did. They came to me in a dream last night. Three of the finest is what he called him."

"Who's this?" Ed asked, already feeding Ammon some tall grass he had pulled for the Pegasus.

"That's Ammon. You two are quite the pair huh?" August joked, watching the two of them converse.

"Ammon huh? Well looks like we're going to get along just fine." Ed said, chewing on some grass himself.

"And who's that?" Ariadne asked, looking up at Anatolios, who stood proudly between the other two. August smiled and stroked his mane.

"This is my newest friend, Anatolios. He's a direct gift from my father I think." August could feel the connection with her Pegasus already. She knew he'd do anything for her, even ride with her into the heat of battle, which he would probably literally have to do.

"A name meaning sunrise. How fitting for him." Ariadne smiled as she watched August's reaction to the mighty horse. August looked and felt like a kid at Christmas who had gotten the exact gift she had wanted.

"Well now we have a way of getting to the Canyon that isn't hitchhiking." Ed laughed, going back to organizing his backpack.

"True that. Let me get packed and we can head out." August said, walking over to her stuff.

"So do you know exactly what kind of Pegasus these three are?" Ariadne asked, sitting on a rock next to August as she packed.

"I'm really not sure, but I think they were the original pullers of Apollo's chariot. They look like they're built to handle the sun." August answered as she shoved the sleeping bag into it's sack and strapped it to her backpack.

"That seems very plausible. Apollo would have direct contact with them if that were the case." Ariadne looked back at her Pegasus who was busy grazing and smiled. "He did a good job picking them out, they all seem to suit us respectively."

"I thought the same thing. Pretty neat on his part if you ask me. This is going to make traveling so much easier!" August was ecstatic and couldn't wait to get back up in the air. Arizona seemed like a mile away.

Once airborne, August felt amazing. The ground below traveled past them in a blur, and the air around them felt warm yet refreshing. Anatolios was doing a great job leading his team, and seemed to be having a great time too. August looked at her left to see Ed trying to keep his nerves down. August had told him not to look down at the ground, but he had obviously failed to take her advice. Ariadne on the other hand, was doing a great job in flight and seemed to be having a nice time as well. They made there way across the states, keeping an eye out for any sort of airborne enemies. Thankfully, none came their way. As they circled in on their final destination, August checked the time. They had done surprisingly very well for traveling across country on horseback, as it was only about two. August had been to the Grand Canyon once when she was younger and loved it, but seeing it from the air was spectacular. It looked like an inverse rainbow made of rock.

They landed in an open area near the visitor center. August was nervous about the Pegasus being found out at first, but then remembered the mist would cover up any oddities. Once they dismounted, August went to the edge of the canyon.

"What happens if I throw a rock in?" She asked, picking up a small one from the ground, winding back to pitch it. Before she could throw it, Ariadne caught her arm.

"It's illegal and possibly dangerous. Now let's stop goofing around and figure out where this ore is supposed to be located." Before Ariadne could finish, August was airborne again. Anatolios circled around the canyon as August searched for a sign of anything interesting or odd.

"Toli, get lower into the canyon. I bet that it's inside." Anatolios listened to August's words and dived in lower. As they flew through the canyon, August took in her surroundings. It was all very pretty like some sort of surrealist dream, but getting back to focus she searched below her. At first, everything was normal; rocks, rocks, shrubs, and more rocks were all that lined the bottom. But then, August caught site of a very large person entering a cavern in the side of the mountain. It scared her at first because of how big the giant was, but August knew she had found her man.

"Anatolios, back to our friends please." Anatolios nickered in approval, and flew up and out of the canyon. Once they landed back down next their friends, August started explaining.

"There's a cavern in the side of the canyon where I saw a really huge dude enter. I think we may have found the Cyclops headquarters. Wherever they are, the ore is right? Let's go!" No sooner had August given the order, Ariadne and Aurora were already off and into the canyon, with Anatolios and Ammon flying in after. August was right; Aurora was indeed the fastest. August took up the lead with Anatolios, leading the team to the entrance. As the approached it, they realized how large the mouth of the cave was. It towered over them at fifteen feet, and it made August wonder how they managed to keep it hidden so well.

"This is it. Toli, take the other three grazing while we go inside. I'll cal if I need back up." August said to Anatolios and the other three, watching him nod and lead the others out of the canyon. "Well, now or never." August slung her fletch and bow over her back, and extended Helios.

"What exactly does this ore look like?" Ed asked, realizing they had never been told.

"Well it has to look like something out of the ordinary if the Cyclops are guarding it. Anything that's really shiny, or colorful, or just looks out of place, that's it." Ariadne guessed, following August into the cave.

"That's cool, more caves. Satyrs and caves are best friends." Ed complained, being the last to enter. The cave was thankfully lit with green flame torches all the way down, making Helios obsolete. They descended farther into the cave, the smell of sulfur growing stronger as they went deeper. Pretty soon, they had reached a three way split.

* * *

><p><strong>No trivia for right now. Only because I don't have anything to say about this chapter. But, enjoy!<strong>


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Larger Than Life**

"I hate to do this, but it will take forever if we don't split up. Ed, take the less traveled one; Ariadne, the one to left that looks like a service road, and I'll take up the main one. Meet back here in twenty minutes unless you've found something or got caught, and we'll come find you." August gave her orders, and to her surprise her two friends followed it without question.

The middle road seemed more traveled than the previous two, with the dirt packed down and the walls carved out to fit larger objects. August crept along quietly, trying not to make any sounds that may giver her position away. As the tunnel turned and winded, an air current began to drift through the cavern. She knew she was getting close to something. A few more yards, and she started to hear working. Metal grinding, rocks crumbling, voices, and squeaking mechanics began to fill the cavern the closer she got. Finally, after following the cavern strait for another several yards, August reached an opening that lead to a huge underground mining project. The room carved out of the earth was round and massive, bigger than the size of a concert arena, and much deeper. The walls were carved in a reverse pyramid like shape, with different levels of shelves of earth cascading inward. In the center, a massive, oval rock structure the size of a planetarium sat, keeping the roof up and melding into the floor. All through the mine, Cyclops, troll like creatures, and harpies worked at the oval, trying to get at something inside. Griffins pulled carts of gravel away from the workers, and harpies used their lava breath to power the mining machines. August knew that she had found the ore.

"Break time is over slackers! Keep mining! This ore won't pull itself form the ground!" A huge voice boomed through the cavern, shaking everything around it. August ducked behind a stationary cart filled with rubble, and peaked over it, catching a glimpse of the biggest and meanest looking Cyclops she had ever seen. August watched as he walked around the lower level on the mine, lecturing workers and threatening them with a club, and knew that getting to the center on the lower level wouldn't be an option. Then, August took notice of the ladders placed around the walls leading to the upper levels.

"If I could just get up to the upper level, I can stick the flag into the rock and light it up. Easy enough." August mumbled to herself, thinking about her route. The closet ladder to the upper level was several yards away, and August had to be fast. She took a deep breath, and took off. She ducked behind carts and machines, rolled past guards, and climbed the ladder to the upper level before anyone saw her. Just as she was about to cross the bridge that was attached to the center rock, a voice from behind her hissed angrily.

"Foul half-blood! You shan't be taking the ore from us! You will die!" A large, dark, lanky griffon approached her, claws extended and growling.

"Didn't know you guys could talk. Not that it matters." August growled back, drawing out Helios. The spark of courage surged through her again, and she was ready for battle. "Your move o' winged kitty cat." August sneered. The griffon hissed and lunged at August, ready to tear her to bits. August rolled underneath the beast and spun around, now behind the griffon. Before it had time to turn around, August plunged Helios into it's back, and it burst into gold dust, leaving behind a few feathers. That wasn't the last of her battling, as she was almost knocked off the bridge by the club of a Cyclops.

"Heroes no good for our mining. Always getting in the way, trying to take it for themselves." The big brute spat out, rearing back and ready to strike again. August regained composure from the first hit just in time to dodge the second. As the Cyclops's club hit the ground, August ran up it and swiftly kicked him in the eye.

"AAAARRRGGGHH! YOU WILL DIE HERO! YOU WILL BE CRUSHED!" He bellowed, but August had already plunged the dagger into the beast's gut before he could recover, exploding him into a shower of gold.

"C'mon! Who's next?" August yelled, which she quickly realized was a bad idea when she found herself surrounded by at least a dozen griffons and harpies, all ready to strike.

"Hero's best eaten charred." A harpy hissed in a raspy voice, throwing a plume of lava August's way. It hit the bridge, burning through and weakening it greatly. August saw this as her chance, and used Helios slash through the remaining charred wood. As the bridge gave way, the griffons and harpies all took flight. August tucked and rolled into her landing, standing up and running towards the center rock before anyone else could catch her. Just as it looked like she might make it, two griffons and another Cyclops cut her path.

"Puny half-blood. You will pay for the damage you've caused!" The griffon growled. August found herself backed into a corner between a half dozen angry monsters, and the back wall of the dirt floor. August knew she wouldn't make this out unharmed, but she was willing to fight. Just as she was about to lunge, a blur of brown hair, silver and gold rushed in and took out the first griffon in a shower of dust.

"It had been way past twenty minutes. You didn't think we had abandoned you right?" Ariadne asked, now to August's right, ready to brawl. August had never been happier to see Ariadne.

"Where's Ed?" August asked. She jumped out of the way of the griffon, and slashed upwards as it landed, slicing it in two and sending dust everywhere.

"Going for the ore. We found the flag on the ground, which must have fallen out of your pocket when you were attacked. He's going to try and get it lit for us." Ariadne explained through ducking and slashing at the angry Cyclops. She managed to sever a hand before the Cyclops decided to kick things into maximum overdrive.

"Puny heroes will be crushed!" He yelled, swinging his club wildly. August couldn't get a decent hit with him flailing, but she could get a decent aim at his head. August jumped on top of a large mine cart, pulled of her bow and knocked an arrow.

"Arry, duck!" August yelled as the Cyclops swung his club above Ariadne's head. Just as his eye came into view, August took aim and fire.

"AAAAUUUUUURRRRRRGGGGGHH!" The wail was audible from space it seemed as the gold arrow hit him directly in the eye, exploding him into a rain of gold.

"Nice shot!" Ariadne complimented. The two of them looked up at the second bridge, where two harpies were pursuing Ed. August thought fast as she ran after the two bird ladies.

"Alright, time to try out a different arrow." August said as she ran towards the second bridge. She jumped on to the side of a large mining machine, ricocheted off and grabbed onto the side of the bridge. She pulled herself up in time to see Ed trying to fend for himself without a weapon.

"I'm glad you could make it to my funeral!" He complained, ducking from the swooping harpies. August knocked a new arrow, one that had been invented by Leo for times just like this. She took aim, firing at the first harpy. However, instead of just one arrow, the arrow split into two in mid air. They were direct hits on both accounts as the harpies screeched and exploded leaving the path clear, or so August thought.

"Are you ok?" She asked Ed, the two of them now running towards the large rock.

"I am now! Nice job Robin Hood!" Ed high fived her as they made their way across the bridge.

"YOU WILL NOT BE TAKING MY ROCK!" The voice from below them was so loud and angry, it caused the bridge to shake. Suddenly, two humungous hands gripped the side of the bridge and pulled up the head Cyclops. He was red and steaming with rage, his club ready to strike.

"August, Ed! Take care of the flag and I'll keep him busy!" Ariadne had appeared behind August, knives out. As much as August was sure Ariadne was capable of such a feat, August didn't want to take any unsure chances.

"Are you sure?" August yelled, trying to avoid the swinging club.

"Yes! Go!" Ariadne stepped into battle, dodging swings and slicing large Cyclops hands.

"YOU MUST DIE!" The Cyclops yelled, trying to hit Ariadne as she evaded him. August looked around her, trying to figure out how to get passed the Cyclops without getting hit. The Cyclops reared back and accidentally hit the side of the large rock ore, sending small rocks everywhere. Ed picked one up and pitched it at the giant, causing the monster to shake his head irritably so Ariadne could drive both knives into his claves. The giant grunted and fell to his knees, but was relatively unharmed. Suddenly August had an idea.

"Ed, get a rock and wrap the flag around it! When I say go, throw it into the air!" Ed nodded, and ducked down in between the Cyclops legs, grabbing a rock in the process. He wrapped the flag around it tight, and looked August in the eyes, signally he was ready when she was.

"August hurry up! He's strong!" Ariadne pleaded, trying to keep the giant occupied. August took a deep breath and drew another special arrow and knocked it. She looked at Ed and nodded. As he threw the rock up in the air, August took aim and fired, literally. The second the arrow become airborne, it burst into flames. August watched as it caught an exposed corner of the flag, and pinned it to the side of the boulder. Just as it hit, the flag came unfurled and exposed Hephaestus's symbol, which was a bronze hammer. The flag quickly burst into flames, burning true and bright, like it was doused in gasoline. August had one last thing to take care of before Hephaestus arrived. She grabbed one last arrow and knocked it.

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon you plebian!" August yelled as she took one last shot. The arrow lodged itself into the temple of the Cyclops, who groaned and hit the ground. As he hit, gold dust showered the bridge, spilling off into the cavern. At that moment, August felt a great heat from behind her.

"Well done. I didn't know if you had it in you." The gruff voice was unmistakable as Hephaestus's. The few remaining harpies and griffons backed behind machines and carts at the sound of it.

"It wasn't easy, but here's the ore." August said in between deep breaths as she put her hands behind her head.

"So it is. As I promised, I will make you the armor you seek." Hephaestus said, walking towards the rock. He put a rough hand against it, and closed his eyes. A large glowing mass oozed out of it and floated before him. It was the same color as Anatolios's main, a pale shining yellow.

"That's Solar iron?" August asked, unable to draw her eyes away from it.

"It sure is. I will take three days to make all three suits. Don't worry about me getting it to you, I'll send Hermes along with it, and he'll find you." Hephaestus took the ore and floated it in front of him. "Your sizes are pretty small compared Gods, so I'll try and make sure they're not too heavy. Take care of Hyperion." Hephaestus said, and started to glow. "Three days." Were his last words, and August turned away as he disappeared into a bright flame.

"Well that was more than I planned, but I say it went well." August said with a smile as she looked at her two friends.

"That was so friggin' cool! You really do have your father's genes!" Ed laughed as he slapped her on the back.

"You're very impressive with a bow." Ariadne gave her a wide smile. The three of them stood in a battle afterglow for a second before August spoke again.

"So, what did the other two tunnels lead to?" August asked, walking back towards the exit of the mine.

"Mine lead to supplies. Just big machine stuff." Ed said, shrugging his shoulders.

"The tunnel I traveled, however, had something useful. Anyone in the mood for a shower?" Ariadne asked.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: April Showers Bring May Flowers**

"You found showers?" August asked, very excited at the prospect of bathing after two long days of battling and traveling.

"They built them for the workers I guess. They're big, but hey. Hot water and soap!" Ariadne exclaimed happily as she lead them down the corridor. They grabbed their bags they had left at the entrance and made their way down the hall into an abnormally large locker area. Thankfully, they had split it up between Cyclops, harpies, trolls, and griffins.

"I think harpies is our best bet." August said entering the second door.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Ariadne followed in behind her.

"I think I'll take the troll one then. Give you guys some space." Ed said as the door swung closed behind them. To the girls' great relief, the showers in the harpy room were essentially normal showers with metal bars put in the walls for perching on. August was very happy to let the hot water run over her, washing away the dirt and grime from the battle. As she looked on the shelf in front of her, she was surprised to see normal bottles of generic shampoo, body wash, and conditioner.

"Harpies use soap?" August deadpanned to herself.

"They still have hair on their heads and skin, so yeah." Ariadne answered from the stall next to her. After August had washed off to the best of her ability, she toweled off and put her pants back on and a new sports bra. She exited the stall stood in front of the mirror, taking out her hairbrush and running it through her hair.

"I wish they had like, hair dryers or something. It would make this shower almost perfect." August complained, though she had no right to do so. She knew that showering on quests was probably an extremely rare and probably nonexistent occurrence.

"Even though I should get on to you for complaining, I feel the exact same way." Ariadne said from behind the shower curtain. As she exited, she was wearing only capris and a sports bra, not dissimilar to August. August reached into her bag and pulled out the one vanity product she absolutely had to have anywhere she went, anti-frizz gel.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ariadne asked, looking down at the bottle.

"Yup, anti-frizz. Help yourself if you want." August said, running a decent amount through her hair, and following it with the brush.

"You're a saint. I love having curls, but I'll be damned if I don't look like I've been electrocuted when you get my hair wet and dry it out." Ariadne said laughing at herself. As Ariadne went to pick the bottle up, August saw her catch site of something that made her gray eyes go wide.

"My gods." Ariadne half whispered in surprise.

"What? Spider?" August said looking around to see what Ariadne was staring at.

"That's just not fair! It's like you're photoshopped!" Ariadne whined. It took August a second to realize that Ariadne was starring at her four-pack. It then took her another second to realize that Ariadne hadn't ever seen her without a shirt on. In that same moment, August realized she had never seen Ariadne without a shirt on. It was true that August had swum a lot at camp, but her lake classes never coincided with Ariadne's making bathing suite encounters nonexistent. Realizing this, August instantly felt odd about the situation they were in.

"Oh yeah, those. It comes with the running." August answered sheepishly. Free style running had its perks, like boosting stamina and strength as well as muscle, but August had never liked the fact that it caused her to have the body of a gymnast. That is to say flat chested with the curves of a ten-year-old boy.

"Well don't act so proud." Ariadne said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Do you know how many girls would kill to have your body?"

"Uh five maybe? Good luck attracting anyone with no hips or boobs." August griped, turning back towards the mirror. The situation would not unawkward itself.

"I would give yourself more credit. It takes a lot of work to look like that." Ariadne commented, turning back towards the mirror herself and running a glob of gel through her locks.

"But I'd rather look more like you or Piper. Both of you are strong and fit, yet you both actually have figures." August whined, still not buying into Ariadne's praise. August saw Ariadne go pink in the mirror, but pretended not to notice.

"But I can never keep up with you or do the things you do. There's a big difference between our bodies and what they are built for, August." Ariadne responded, but August had stopped paying attention.

"Hair dryers." August commented, looking at the hand dryers on the wall. It had occurred to her not to use the Cyclops showers because they would be too big, but if the hand dryers were bigger, perhaps they could use that to their advantage. "Follow me!" August told Ariadne, throwing her stuff in her bag and walking towards the door.

"Is that seriously how we're going to end this conversation?" Ariadne deadpanned, not happy that August had changed subjects so abruptly.

"Yup, follow me please!" August motioned for Ariadne to follow. Exasperated, Ariadne did as she was told. August led the two of them out of the harpy room, and into the Cyclops room. To her great pleasure, everything was much bigger, including the hand dryers, which came just above August's head.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're actually kind of brilliant." Ariadne said as she ducked under the second hand dryer and pressed the button. Hot air blew down on top of her, drying off the excess moisture in her hair. August did the same, getting goose bumps from the warmth.

"Me gusta." August said, letting the warmth dry her off. In no time, they were all dry and clean, ready to face anything. August went into her bag and pulled out a new shirt, this one light gray with a green apple on it, and tugged it over her head. Ariadne had done the same, hers with a sketched out owl on it. As they made their way out of the locker room, Ed was waiting outside, also cleaned off.

"Smart idea on your part there, Arry." He said, walking towards the exit.

"Well we might as well take advantage of any shower while we can." She responded, walking out into the light with her friends. Outside, Anatolios and the other two Pegasi were waiting for them. Anatolios shook his head impatiently, as if to say "took you long enough."

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but we had an errand to run." August said, putting her arms around his neck. He nickered in approval.

"I'm starving, let's see if that visitor center has a café in it." Ed said, mounting Ammon. Ariadne followed, pulling herself up onto Aurora.

"Sounds good. Anatolios, you know what to do!" August gave the command, and the three of them soured out of the canyon. It took them all of two seconds to find the visitor center, where the pegasi landed. Anatolios was not happy to see them go.

"I know, I know but we have to eat too." August told him as he stamped unhappily.

"You can understand him?" Ariadne asked, curious.

"No, not exactly. I mean, not with words anyways. I can understand his body language, and how her reacts to certain things." August answered, watching him fly away. As the three pegasi took flight, the three heroes went to go get lunch. Once at the café, August realized just how hungry she was.

"I'm seriously contemplating on buying everything on the menu and eating it all." Her stomach agreed, growling loudly.

"I'm getting a grilled cheese and tomato soup." Ed decided, setting his menu down.

"Baked ziti sounds good." Ariadne said as she squeezed lemon into her water.

"And I've decided on a quesadilla." August said, making up her mind. After they placed their orders, August caught site of a family eating lunch several tables over. They seemed normal enough, with a mom, a dad, a younger sister, and a teenage boy around the same age as she was. From what August could see, he had short, spiky brown hair, a nice square jaw, broad shoulders, sun kissed skin, and was dripping with laid back ease. August couldn't stop starring, but it had nothing to do with looks. August envied that he could be here on a sense on normality and be so chill, while she had just hacked her way through griffins and harpies for a grumpy God. She wished she could have just enjoyed being here with friends, but instead, she was on a mission.

"Hello? August? Are you even in this conversation with us anymore?" Ariadne waved a hand in front of August's face, bringing her back into the present.

"Uh yeah… something about the French." August had no clue what they were talking about, but hoped she was right.

"Not even close. What are you staring at anyways?" Ariadne turned to the direction of August's previous gaze, catching site of the boy. She turned back to August, a sly smile on her face. At first August didn't get what she was hinting at, until it hit her that they weren't aware of her reason for staring. Realizing what Ariadne thought, August turned beet red.

"Not a bad choice actually." Ed remarked, going back to chewing on his straw. If August could have disappeared, she would have.

"It's only been two days away from males, August. I didn't take you for boy crazy." Ariadne commented, taking a sip of her water.

"I wasn't staring at him because of that." August protested, still red.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing. He's actually very cute. Is that your type?" Ariadne asked, watching him closely as if it she was trying see what August saw.

"I told you, that's not why I was staring actually but you go ahead and think whatever you want. Oh hey food!" August looked up to see the waitress bringing the plates. As she set them down, August took a large bite out of one of the slices of quesadilla, hoping to avoid the conversation all together. Thankfully, both of them took the hint.

"So it's about five right now. We can fly in to San Fran by about sundown give or take, and stay at the Roman Camp. After that, we'll head to Hollywood." Ariadne gave her map another look over, marking various locations.

"I still find it a little insensitive that the entrance to the underworld is in a music studio and in Hollywood." August said between bites.

"Well that's just how it is. The business world is located in New York, which the Gods find to be the more powerful of the two. The other half of the power is located in the West with the entertainment is." Ariadne explained.

"Whatever. Well, that plan sounds good to me." August agreed, and continued eating. They had all pretty much wolfed down their food in record time, and not so daintily. Even Ariadne had a hard time keeping basic manners in check. After they had finished, Ed had found it best not to fly on a full stomach (which August agreed on his behalf, not wanting to see half digested cheese rain) giving the team time to walk and admire the canyon. It took great will power on August's part not to run off ahead, or pitch rocks or small children into the canyon, or take off on Toli, or goof off in general. However, she was still enjoying the walk, even without the extra stimulant. At one point they stopped on a cliff and overlooked the canyon, having a moment of peace before diving back into the grind. August stared out, and felt very small compared to everything around her.

"So is there some sort of legend that goes behind this or is this Poseidon having a temper tantrum?" August asked, trying to understand how something so big could just appear. August did not expect the answer she got.

"Sometimes, big things just happen without reason. When they do, you stand back and enjoy them for what they are." Ariadne said, standing next to August on the cliff. August accepted that answer, taking comfort in the fact that there were still some things that even the Gods couldn't touch. August looked over her right shoulder to see Ed standing there, eyes wide. Ariadne was to her left, looking out across the canyon smiling to herself. The past two days had taken everything that August thought normal, and spun into something that didn't even remotely resemble normal. August felt weird, like her insides were being twisted and shaken up, but pleasantly so. It was like being nervous and yet totally calm with everything at the same time.

"So this is what it feels like to be on an adventure yeah?" August whispered to no one in particular.

"It's my first time too dude. If this is adventure, then yeah I'm totally cool with it." Ed responded quietly, but in a cheerful tone.

"I think I can manage." Ariadne said, lightly shoving August's shoulder.

"Well, how about we take the cool way out?" August said with a sly grin. Just as she said that, Anatolios and his group came circling in, ready to carry them wherever.

* * *

><p><em>Just a nice chilled out chapter before SHIT STARTS TO HIT THE FAN. Just an FYI. <em>


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: The City Is At War**

They reached the Roman camp at exactly six. Two burly looking guys in full Roman armor, who watched the trio as they approached, were guarding a large metal gate with the words CAMP JUPITER written in metal across it's bars. Ariadne was the first to land and dismount, stepping forward towards the guards.

"Password." The first one grunted, unmoving from his post.

"Derek it's just me! Is that really…" Ariadne was cut off before she could finish.

"Its just protocol right now. There's too much stuff going on, and we don't know who's on what side anymore. Password please." Derek explained, looking a little irked himself.

"_Amicus_. But what's this about not knowing who's on what side?" Ariadne asked, confused. Derek sighed before taking his helmet off to explain. Underneath the helm wasn't someone nearly as tough or brute like as he came off. August realized it was just the armor that made him look huge when the helm revealed light brown hair, freckles, and baby blue eyes.

"We're related aren't we?" August asked, looking at Derek. He shook his head.

"No, though it's easy to get confused. I'm actually a son of Mercury, or Hermes as you call him. Greg is too." Derek nodded to the other guard, who took of his helm revealing similar features. August remembered that Romans were different from Greeks in many aspects, and apparently looks were one of them. August was used to rugged, wiry kids coming from Hermes cabin, not militant looking buff dudes. "Anyways," Derek continued, "it seems that some of the monsters sent out by Hyperion can shape shift, which has ended in information being leaked back to him apparently." Derek said, looking more tired as he explained.

"Reyna's scared because they're entirely too perfect. Usually a monster has a tell, but these guys really don't. Passwords are installed to make sure people are who they say they are." Greg added, brushing his hair out of his face. He looked more battle worn than his brother, but again, not like August was expecting.

"Well that's pretty horrifying." August grumbled, now even unhappier that a monster could possibly confront her and have no idea.

"How do you know you're not one of them?" Greg asked, paranoia spreading across his face. Ariadne rolled her eyes and turned to August.

"Show them Helios." She commanded, and August didn't argue. As she extended the blade, the two guards looked surprised, but relieved.

"That's a demigod weapon if we ever saw one. What about the faun?" Derek eyed Ed cautiously.

"Satyr! There's a difference man!" Ed whined, unhappy with the comparison. "We actually work, unlike the slackers you guys have hanging around."

"It's all good man; monsters wouldn't take the form of a satyr anyways. Too hard to act nice as it is with being a veg head as well. Alright you guys are clean, come on in." Derek said as Greg began to open the gates. As soon as they opened, large barracks could be seen across a small but swift moving river.

"Do any of you have any sort of spells or curses cast on you including bathing in the Stix?" Greg asked. All three of them shook their head. "Good, because the Little Tiber will wash away any of those. The Pegasi may fly over, but you three must cross through."

"Ok, will do." August said. She handed her pack over to Toli, took a deep breath, and then sprinted directly into the Tiber. To her surprise, the river came up to about mid chest, and was indeed stronger than it looked. At first, everything was numb, but then August felt the freezing water. It almost hurt to walk and breath as she trudged along trying not to hyperventilate or throw up, but she somehow made it across. Sitting on the bank, shivering and wet, she motioned for another one to cross. Ed nodded, and bolted like August did. He suffered a similar fate as August watched his eyes go huge, and his breath catch.

"This. SUCKS." He yelled, almost halfway across.

"I know! Just keep going, you'll be ok!" August reassured him. Once he hade it over, he collapsed on the bank next to August and panted.

"Ow… or not. I can't really feel my legs." He moaned, the fur on his legs soaked and dripping. August looked up and nodded at Ariadne.

"How bad is it?" She yelled from across the bank.

"It's bad. Do you want me to help?" August yelled back.

"No, thanks, I've had to do this before." She responded, taking a few steps back. She sprinted in, and had the same reaction as her friends. "Oh Gods this hurts! What the fuck! Why is it so cold this time?" August had to stifle back laughter; Ariadne only cussed when she messed up or when August was being even more awful than usually. Even so, August sympathized, feeling her freezing pain in her own legs. The second she made it across, she collapsed next to August, lips blue and shivering. "I never want to do that ever again." Ariadne grumbled through shivers. To August's confusion, she didn't feel cold anymore. In fact, she felt very warm, like she had never stepped into the river in the first place. She looked at her hands, which she now saw were dry, and would create little wisps of steam when she touched her wet pants. At first it freaked her out and made her think she was under attack by an unseen force, but then she remembered that nothing could get passed the Tiber. Still confused, she turned to Ariadne for answers.

"Arry, what's happening? I don't feel cold and I'm steaming." August asked, looking back down at her pants, which were starting dry very quickly. Ariadne looked a little shocked at first, but them smiled like it was totally normal.

"Apollo's kids, over time, gain the ability to control light and heat. Every one of Apollo's kids learns to do it eventually; I just didn't expect you to pick it up so quickly." Ariadne mused, watching the steam rise from her friend's clothes.

"Looks like you guys made it!" Derek said hoping off the bridge used for regulars helping August to her feet.

"Well, at least we aren't dead of hypothermia yet." Ed groaned, standing up.

"Let's let the others know they're here. As for you three, follow me. I'll take you to new Rome so you can give us the update on what's going on." Derek directed. Greg nodded and took off towards the center of camp. August looked around at her new surroundings once they made it off the bank, and was surprised. The Roman camp, in her opinion, was not any where near as beautiful as Half-Blood. The cabins were made of sturdy wood, with the Latin word for Cohort written above each of them with their respective number. There were no cabins dedicated to the Gods like in Half-blood, or fountains, statues, gardens, or orchards; just packed down dirt and army like barracks. The only place built for the actual Gods was on a large hill, where each God had his or her temple built in their name. The entire camp felt more like a military training ground than a camp.

"So this is where the Romans do business now?" August asked Derek, who was leading them down a path towards a large golden gate.

"Yup it sure is. I've only been to Half-Blood once, and I can see why you might be a little off put by us. The Romans never valued art or beauty as the Greeks did, not that art is a bad thing, but the Romans are business first, pleasure latter." He explained as they walked.

"So New Rome. That's where older campers go to start their new lives in safety?" August continued, now fascinated.

"That's correct, yeah. We're currently working on Greeking the whole thing up a bit. No use having it all to ourselves when there are others in need." Derek said in a friendly tone.

"I thought Greeks and Romans weren't on great terms." August said, confused as to the change of heart.

"Used to be that we weren't. But you guys have proved yourselves greatly, and any warriors willing to pull their own weight is a friend of ours." Derek boasted, as if he had made the bond himself. "This is the gate to New Rome. You have to give up your weapons before you enter, as it is a safe zone." Derek explained. August was none too happy at that prospect. As they approached the gate, a large, limbless statue of what August assumed to be a God with the name Terminus underneath opened its huge stone eyes. August almost jumped back at the sudden liveliness.

"Please leave all weapons with my assistant and enter." The statue bellowed. August was too stunned to look away.

"This is too weird." August mumbled, taking Helios out of her pocket. As she looked down to give it to whatever assistant he was talking about, she noticed a little girl with an airline security tray. She looked like a typical little kid with pigtails and a sundress, and August wondered who gave her permission to handle weapons. "So you're going to take good care of this right?" August said with a smile, though she was really unhappy that a seven year old would be handling a very dangerous dagger.

"Of course I will! Now place it in the bucket please!" She demanded in a little kid tone.

"Julia, don't try and mess with these ok? Remember what happened last time." Araidne warned, taking her knives off her belt."

"Yeah I know I know. By the way, the bow and arrows go too." Julia stared at August like she was an idiot. August sighed and removed the quiver and bow, and handed them over.

"Don't worry Jules, this satyr's got nothing on him." Ed said, walking past. August followed close behind, wanting to be as far away from both the little imp at the living limbless statue as she could. Ariadne waved goodbye to Julia, and followed in.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Control**

Once inside New Rome, August felt much more at home. All the buildings were a pleasant white marble with red tile roofs; shops lined the streets; demigods talked and lived normal lives all around her. August felt very safe and at peace with everything around her.

"So we're getting a Greek section here right?" August asked, excited at the prospect of being able to live someplace where her family could be safe.

"Yes, that's why Annabeth and Percy travel so much." Ariadne answered as if it were obvious.

"Just making sure. I like it here." August responded, mesmerized by her surroundings. Everything seemed so perfect; it was hard to imagine having to leave. As they walked through the city, they approached a large building with a very regal air to it, and August knew it was used for important decisions within the camp and city.

"In we go then, don't want to keep everyone waiting." Derek said, holding the door for the three of them. Once inside, they were lead to a large table where several demigods were sitting having a discussion. Among them, like in August's dream, were Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth was the first to notice them, and instantly jumped up from the table and ran over to them.

"Oh thank the Gods you're alright. Is everything going smoothly?" She asked, more to Ariadne than anyone.

"Yes, everything has been relatively smooth. We had a run in with a werewolf and had to defeat a bunch of Cyclops and griffins in a mine in the Grand Canyon, but other than that, we're doing pretty well." Ariadne explained, as it if were an everyday thing. Percy was the next to get up and ask questions.

"A werewolf? Dang, those things are pretty hard to deal with. How did you manage?" He asked, almost amazed.

"It wasn't easy at first, but then I realized he didn't like light. Once he blindfolded himself, it was easy to try and get in a hit." August explained, miming actions and all.

"And the mine? What was that about?" Percy continued.

"Hephaestus needed us to get some special metal for the heat proof armor, which happened to be in the Grand Canyon. Of course, some Cyclops who wanted it for whatever reason was mining it. But it's cool. August kicked ass and took names." Ed explained like it was no big deal. August turned slightly pink at the uplift.

"Take a seat and we'll explain everything that's been going on here." Percy motioned towards the table, where Reyna and the blonde haired boy from August's dreams were sitting.

"August, this is Jason. He's one of the heads of Camp Jupiter." Annabeth introduced the blonde boy, who stood up to greet the trio.

"I've heard of your quest, and I wish you all the best. We're on your side you know." He said, shaking August's hand.

"That's good to hear. I have a feeling that Hyperion is getting smart and will start sending more troops." August responded. Reyna stood up, more to interject than to introduce herself.

"He already has. We've had several monsters including Cyclops, hellhounds, and several furies. They're trying to pick us off while we're distracted. Forgive me for my interjection, I'm Reyna." She said, though she didn't extend a hand.

"You're the other head I'm assuming?" August asked, giving her a warm but guarded look.

"Yes, that's correct. Have a seat you three, we need to talk about your quest so far." Reyna motioned towards three empty chairs, which August and her teammates filled. Just as they sat down, the doors once again opened, and a tall young man with a long face, pale blonde haired, and a scar going from the left bridge of his nose to his mouth blustered in holding a ripped open teddy bear.

"My sacrifices keep telling me that worse will come our way very soon if we do not act! How could any of you think that it was a good idea to send three underpowered, untrained campers out to complete a quest like this?" The boy complained as he slammed the dissected bear down on the table. Noticing the three new additions to the circle, he paused and looked over. "And who might you three be?" August, now annoyed at the young man, stood up to be as eye level with him as she could be.

"I'm August, the underpowered demigod who defeated numerous monsters, talked to several gods, and lead her team here pretty much unharmed, and will be going to the underworld tomorrow to confront Hades. And who the hell are you?" She challenged, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow. Annabeth spoke up with an amused look on her face.

"August, this is Octavian. You two are distantly related." As the word "distantly" came out of Annabeth's mouth, Octavian visibly flinched. August could tell he was not happy with the fact that August held more relation to Apollo than him.

"I see. Well then maybe I have underestimated your ability, if you're telling the truth that is." Even though Octavian was trying to be just as threatening, he was visibly pale and slightly more sheepish looking. He took a seat at the empty chair next to Reyna at the end of the table, and August fell back into her chair with a smirk. As she looked back to her friends, she noticed Ed with a satisfied smile, and Ariadne with her hand on her face looking like she was trying to suppress giggles.

"As we were saying," Reyna continued, "it sounds like you've had and hard enough time, even without hoards of monsters. That's probably because they've all been attacking here. They're trying to lower our numbers so if and when the time comes to do battle, we will be significantly weaker." August went serious hearing that.

"Oh Gods that's awful. Have you all been managing?" She asked, now concerned for her friends.

"Of course we have. We're all still standing aren't we? To be honest, it's been more like a dozen or so, but still enough to be concerning." Jason said. August could tell he was the more laid back of the two.

"Well let's hope we can get this over with fast so you all don't have to worry. We've still got three days. We'll use tomorrow defeating the fire beast and getting into the underworld, the next day in Hawaii taking down Hyperion, and then we have a day of grace to get back." August planned out load. "Easier said than done though, but we'll manage."

"But here's the thing. Now that Hyperion knows you're a worthy opponent, he's going to make things that much harder." Percy explained, looking concerned.

"I thought about that. Here's the thing though, I feel like I've got it under control. As far as quests go, I almost feel like this one was built for me." August said, giving a half smile of confidence.

"Tomorrow before you leave, we will send you with new supplies. But first, explain everything that has happened." Reyna commanded with a tone that made her seem way older than she was. August nodded, and told them the long and interesting story. She started with the werewolf on the train, meeting Hephaestus, the pegasi, the mine, and ending with them going through the Tiber.

"So we've still got a lot on our plate. However, I've got a good team on my side." August finished, turning towards her teammates who nodded in agreement.

"I trust that you do. We will discuss more tomorrow, but for now get some rest." Reyna said, standing up from her chair.

"I'm sure you guys could use some food right? I'll show you to the dining hall." Jason got up to escort the three out of the hall, and they followed without question. Right outside the building, two new figures stood waiting. One was a tall, stocky boy with a baby face that didn't seem to match him at all. The other was a small girl with curly dark hair who seemed to be of mixed race. They smiled when they saw Jason.

"Hey man, these must be the new heroes." The boy said and turned to August. "You're new, my name's Frank." He said extending a hand. August shook it and smiled.

"August, nice to meet you. And you look like someone I know at my camp." August said to the girl who smiled at the remark.

"It's probably Nico, he's my half brother. I'm Hazel." She waved. August thought it was so weird that the God of the underworld could have such a friendly child. "And look who it is!" Hazel said, giving Ariadne a hug, who reciprocated.

"It's great to see you both!" Ariadne said turning towards Frank as well. "It's been too long."

"Totally. Onwards to the dining hall then." Jason directed, letting the two demigods tag along.

"The quest is going well then?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah, it's going pretty well actually. It's nice to have a break though." August said, putting her hands behind her head as they walked.

"I get that. When we were on a quest, things tended to get pretty brutal. It was nice when we could stop and take a breather. So tell me what happened so far?" Hazel asked as they continued to walk. Suddenly, Ariadne turned towards Hazel and started speaking in a language that was vaguely familiar. Hazel responded in the same language, and they continued to have a conversation.

"Latin. They're talking about the quest. Ariadne is mentioning that you probably didn't want to explain it again." Jason explained, and August agreed that she didn't feel like explaining everything yet another time. Grateful for Ariadne's take over, it gave August a chance to look around. As she looked around New Rome, she noticed that the buildings were low, and close to one another. August got the sudden urge to run.

"Ed, you wanna run?" August asked her friend, giving him a mischievous smile. Ed smiled back.

"We'll be back guys. Ed and I are going for a run." August said, but the other three Roman's didn't seem to notice as Ariadne continued to tell the story. August shrugged, and ran towards the nearest building. As she pulled herself up onto the roof, she took a deep breath and exhaled. She focused on her path, and regained control. Ed stood next to her, ready when she was. August nodded, and took off. She somersault jumped off one roof to the next, side flipped to the next, and then used the gutter to climb around the roof of another. Ed was close behind, mimicking her movements, making sure not to get left behind. August was in her element, and in complete bliss. She soared from one roof to the next, pulling herself up onto ones to high and flipping off onto low roofs. The world around her rushed by, until she was snapped back into reality by the sounds of screams.

"GET BACK NOW!" A voice boomed, followed by loud screeching and crashes. August stopped on top of a roof near the entrance of New Rome, over looking the scene just beyond it's boarders. A large creature with leather skin and feathers that looked like something from a Jim Henson movie screeched and threw four campers off of it.

"That's a fury if I ever saw one! August, we better move!" Ed said. Before he could finish, August had taken off again and landed from the rooftop in front of the gate. Just as she dashed through, she stopped at Julia's post.

"You're gonna need this!" Julia yelled to August, tossing her Helios. August caught it in midair, and ran directly towards the fury as she extended Helios. The usual jolt of courage she got was rendered obsolete, as she already felt like she could take on the world just from the run she had.

"Hey! Over here you poor excuse for an UrSkek!" August yelled right as she was only a few yards away from the fury. It turned around, revealing its leather beaked face and claws. August, however, wasn't afraid of anything it had to offer. "It's alright guys! I've got this all under control!" August screamed at the other campers, who seemed to obey. At this point in time, all August could think about was hoping she was right.

* * *

><p><em>... I made a Dark Crystal reference. Yay! <em>


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Fever**

"Yessss! The target! Masssster will be happy to hear of your death!" It hissed. As it moved, August saw that it was wearing thick metal plates the size of sofa cushions for armor. August new that Helios wouldn't be able to pierce through the armor without some major force on her part. Thinking on the fly, she ducked under it's swiping claws and tried to hit an exposed point, but to know avail.

"C'mon! That's all you have to offer?" August growled, trying to see where she could get a hit. The creature shrieked and lumbered towards August, flailing and swiping furiously. It dawned on August that it's armor made it incredibly slow.

"YOU WILL NOT MOCK ME!" It screamed. August kept dishing out blows, only to have them bounce off the armor. She was getting more and more frustrated as she continued to fail. August then started to feel hot, like she had a fever.

"I'm not done with you yet!" August yelled, grabbing onto a near by tree branch and pulling herself up. She jumped off the tree and managed to swipe the fury right across the face, causing it to recoil and spill it's golden dust over August. August felt herself getting even hotter. She looked down at the handle of the dagger, and noticed that the leather wrapped hilt was smoking. Then, August remembered what Ariadne had told her about her heating ability. Just before she had time to think, the fury swiped down at August, who barely had enough time to flip out of the way before the large talons smashed on the ground.

"HOLD SSSSTILL YOU PESSSST!" The creature bellowed, trying to move to get in a better position to hit August. August's mind was racing as she tried to think of way to get through the armor, which seemed like the only place wide enough to really get a hit in. BAM! Large claws almost got her again, making the ground shake.

"No, you!" August yelled, getting in another swipe that managed to dent the armor. The impact hurt her wrist; the recoil of metal against metal was not at all pleasant.

"What'ssss the matter? Having a hard time?" The creature mocked. August ducked, swiped, and kicked, denting the armor each time but never managing to break it fully. The fight was not going in her favor as she continued her brigade, and she was running out of steam and time.

"I'm not done with you yet!" August yelled, swiping at an arm, successfully severing it. The fury screeched with pain, but did not explode into dust as August had hoped it would. Instead, it lumbered towards her, flailing and snapping its beak dangerously. August ducked, stabbed and slashed, but to no avail. She jumped off the top of a cabin and landed on it's back, hanging on for dear life as she tried to think of a way to get through the armor that was blocking her path. As she continued to fight and struggle, she started to remember Hephaestus's workshop, and how he was using hot Celestial bronze to cut into normal metal, without the former losing shape. She wondered if it would work with Helios. All she had to do was get it hot enough. The fury flailed even harder, trying to throw August off. It had almost succeeded, but she held on to the straps of the makeshift armor. She knew that she needed a lot of energy for what she was about to try, and it was now or never.

"Alright, you asked for it!" August yelled. She let herself be angry at the world and for everything that had happened to her so far on this quest. Feeling her rage, she let the heat she felt from her anger transfer into Helios. As she did so, the blade began to glow abnormally red, and the leather was charring. August gave one last battle cry before using all of her strength and plunging the dagger strait through the metal, and into the back of the fury.

"NO! YOU WILL PAY FOR EVERYTHING!" The fury yelled, then gave a final screech before bursting into a shower of dust. August landed somewhat on her feet, wobbling from the rodeo ride from hell she had just taken, but managed to stand up strait somehow. For a second, August stood panting before a roar of applause shook the air. August looked around to see all the campers, including Percy and Annabeth cheering for her, and it felt great.

"Whoa! That was incredible!" Percy said as he patted her on the back with a smile.

"I think I may have underestimated you greatly." A voice from behind said. August turned around to see Reyna looking very pleased.

"Same here. That was awesome." Annabeth said, smiling proudly.

"Dude, you have to teach me those moves!" Frank yelled, running up to her with Hazel by his side. August nodded in thanks, trying to catch her breath. Before she could say anything back, she was caught off guard by a swift side hug that came from Ed.

"You're so friggin cool man! That thing didn't stand a chance!" He said as he swept August off her feet and spun her around.

"I'm seriously happy you think so but PUT ME DOWN!" August demanded. Ed laughed and set her down gently. Just as August regained control of her once again spinning world, she saw Ariadne standing in front of her.

"You get better at that every time." She said with a smile.

"Comes with the whole being a hero thing right? Gotta keep you guys safe from things that aren't any of your problems in the first place." August said as she tried to take in more air. The whole ordeal had left her terribly out of breath.

"Let's celebrate a soon to be hero shall we?" Jason yelled as he and Frank hoisted August onto their shoulders. The crowed cheered, and they all congregated at the dining hall where any kind of food you could every think of was flying through the air to different campers. As soon as August sat down at a large table next to Jason and Percy, a huge plate of chicken cho mein settled down in front of her with a class of coconut milk. She dug right in.

"I see you've worked up quite the appetite then?" Hazel said, watching August go to town on the noodles.

"I don't know why, but all that heat and fighting made me really hungry." August said in between chewing.

"It's not terribly surprising, heat is used to burn calories. You were really hot if you could cause celestial broze to glow like that." Ariadne said from across the table, going back to her salmon and wild rice.

"Did you just say I was really hot?" August said with a cheeky smile. Jason and Percy both started giggling, and Ed high fived her. Ariadne turned red and bit her lip. August thought Ariadne wouldn't take it so well, but to her surprise she didn't get angry.

"Yes I did. That was poor wording on my part. Ok, we all had a laugh, let's move on."

"If you did that to a fury, I'd hate to see what the wolf looks like." Jason said.

"Trust me, monsters and I don't mix." August said with a smile.

The rest of dinner went in a very lighthearted mood, with everyone laughing and telling stories over huge piles of food. After eating, everyone meandered around camp, congratulating August and discussing battle plans. Once things had settled down, August took the opportunity to go to the one place she hadn't gone to in the Roman camp, Temple Hill. As she jogged up the hill, she looked for a temple with any sign of a lute, raven, chariot, or arrows that would signal her father's temple. Everyone was represented differently in Rome. Ares looked more like a well-trained general than a pumped up warrior; Poseidon was older and wiser; Athena was more regal and uptight than her usual smart yet artful nature; Hermes was more of a messenger than a thief; even Zeus looked more mature. Up the hill a little ways, she found it, a great marble temple with a large sun carved into the front, with lots of oranges and other fruits left out for offerings. August walked inside to see two torches burning on either side of a great statue. The statue looked enough like her father, with his chiseled features and young presence, but he seemed more regal in his posture. August wondered if it was safe to talk to this version of her father or not, but decided to anyways.

"Thank you dad, for everything. I want you to know that I will do my best to complete this quest with everything you've done for me in mind. Also, I will take care of Anatolios. I know he was probably yours at one point, but we get along great! Don't worry too much, I'll be just fine." As she finished, she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a guitar pick, and placed it on the offering table in front of the statue. As she stood back up, she noticed a ladder behind the statue leading to a hole in the ceiling. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she climbed it. Once at the top, she realized that it led to the roof and was facing east, so admirers could view the sunrise. The sky at this point held no sun, but the moon was full overhead, and the stars shown brightly. August thanked her aunt Artemis for the moon, remembering that Artemis needed thanks too. As she watched the sky glitter in the dark, she realized that the dark wasn't so bad. Then, a voice from below sounded upwards.

"August? How did you get up there?" August looked over the side of the temple to see Ariadne standing below.

"There's a ladder in the back that will lead you to the roof. Come up here, it's great!" August yelled back, motioning for her to come up. Ariadne nodded and ran inside the temple. In seconds, she appeared next to August on the roof.

"I was wondering where you went. I've yet to show you the Roman baths." Ariadne said sitting down.

"Baths? Are we talking like the scene from Harry Potter when he goes into the swimming pool?" August asked, trying to picture what could be so great about bathing.

"Almost exactly, it's very relaxing." Ariadne sighed as she slumped a little lower. "Are you sure you're ok with me being up here? I know you've had a big day."

"I'm totally fine. In fact I'd prefer it if you stayed. I still find the dark unnerving to be alone in." August admitted, though that wasn't the only reason she wanted her to stay. They sat in silence for a second watching the moon before Ariadne spoke up again.

"You've really changed since we've started." She said, looking into August again with those piercing gray eyes.

"Is change… good?" August asked, hoping she was going in the right direction.

"I think so. It's not that you've changed personality wise, but you've become more… I don't know. Heroic I guess would be the right word. It's like you want to do well on this quest instead of having to do well." Ariadne said, choosing her words carefully. August smiled and lay back on the roof.

"Can I tell you something?" August asked, hoping to enlighten Ariadne and maybe get enlightened. Ariadne nodded, waiting for August to continue.

"My mom is loaded. I mean, we're never going to be bad on money in any sense of the word. Everything I want, I get." August started, but Ariadne cut her off.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked sounding a little confused.

"Well it means that I never have to work for anything. I don't have any goals or life plans, or anything that I want to work hard for because I don't have to. Coming to Half-Blood and getting this quest gave me something to work for. I now have things I need to do, people to prove myself too, goals to work at, friends to protect. Even when this quest ends, I'll still have things I can train towards. I know it sounds like some sort of petty rich kid problem, but you don't know what it's like to never have anything to work for. It makes you feel worthless sometimes, like you don't contribute. This summer is the best thing that has ever happened to me." August finished, looking back at Ariadne. In the dark, it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

"I don't find that dumb at all. In fact, I'm glad you found something to work for in your life." Ariadne said lying down next to August. "You make yourself out as this free floating person with no real purpose, like you're just here for the show. You're way more than you think you are." August almost started getting emotional hearing that, but bit it back.

"Thanks, I needed that." August sighed, smiling to herself.

"Why were you staring at that guy at the canyon?'" Ariadne asked, kind of out of the blue. August looked at her, wondering if how to answer.

"He reminded me of me." August answered, turning back towards the night sky.

"How so?" Ariadne asked, propping herself up with her forearms.

"Well maybe that's not what I meant." August thought about her word choice and tried again. "I mean, he looked liked how I wanted to feel. Relaxed and enjoying himself with his family, not hunting monsters and fighting for his life. I guess I was jealous that he was…" August trailed off. She wanted to use the word normal, but felt like that may be insulting. Once again, Ariadne read her mind.

"Normal?"

"Yeah. But I think I'm starting to like the weirdness. My life was too normal anyways." August said with a genuine smile. It was true; she liked the weirdness. At least it meant that she was useful, and that's what mattered. The duo slipped into a pleasant silence for several minutes. August was swept away in thought, mostly about the past two days of adventure. She stayed in thought, thinking about her new friends and allies until she noticed the pear tree growing next to the temple. Taken by the flowers, she stood up carefully and walked over to the low branch.

"August what are you doing? Be careful!" Ariadne warned. August pulled the branch down, and extended Helios in its small blade form. She cut off a nice half bloomed bud with part of the stem still in tact.

"I never expected you to be as nice to me as you are. I'm really glad we ended up as friends. Knowing me, things could have gone way south way fast." August said, taking the freshly but bud and sitting back down next to Ariadne.

"What makes you say that?" Ariadne responded, sitting up.

"A pristine girl like you become friends with a grungy mess like me? Bitch please, that's a Disney movie plot." August laughed as she removed the extra leaves and such from the bud.

"You're not that much of a mess. In fact, you're more in tact than most of Apollo's kids. I'm sure you could have given your late brother Kurt a few lessons." Ariadne teased.

"Ooooh!" August laughed as she flicked her hand mocking having been burned. "Too soon man, too soon!" Ariadne and August both laughed at their stupidity. "Turn towards me please." August directed. Ariadne did so, causing August's breath to catch. It had been a while since she had really taken a good look at Ariadne, and she was starting to see how guys could find her looks intimidating. Even in the pale light of the moon, Ariadne was stunning. August quickly stopped starring and tried not to think anymore as she brushed Ariadne's hair behind her ear, tucking the bloom behind it in the process. "Ah, so I was right. That is really pretty." August commented, trying not to sound nervous. Ariadne smiled and turned away.

"You know, you're really good at being a likable person. Well, for someone who has a habit of breaking windows, putting fake spiders on my bed, eating like a dinosaur and using the words 'um' and 'dude' nine times per sentence. And let's not forget the fact that you're also really bad at sudoku." She said, trying to sound annoyed and again failing.

"Haha, so funny. Yes, I'm aware. Bath time now?" August asked, hoping to see the glorious swimming pool sized tubs. Ariadne smiled and nodded, leading them back down the ladder.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: She is Beautiful **

The baths were just as Ariadne had promised; huge and super warm. August's muscles felt instantly better as she eased into the hot water. It hadn't occurred to her that the past few days of intense fighting might have taken a toll on her body, but it didn't matter now. After taking the best bath ever, and putting on some sweats for bed, she headed down to the 5th Cohort. August was told that they might not have held the best recommendation letters, but they held the toughest. It's where Frank, Hazel, Jason and Percy all stayed, which sounded like a pretty good line up to August. The barrack had set up two extra bunks for both August and Ariadne, as Ed had opted to hang out with some of the fauns for the evening. A bed had never looked better to August as she slumped down onto the mattress.

"Forgive me if I can't move in the morning." August groaned, looking up at the ceiling. Even though the bath had helped her body, she was drained.

"You'll be fine. Trust me, I've been doing this for years and I don't have healing powers." Percy commented from his bunk.

"You better be right." August mumbled. She rolled onto her stomach and looked at the bunk next to her, which happened to be Ariadne's. Ariadne looked up from her sketchbook and met August's eyes.

"Ready for tomorrow?" Ariadne asked, sounding confident. August sighed before answering.

"Sleep first, then we'll see." August responded, rolling over onto her side.

"Lights out guys!" Jason called before flipping the switch. In not time, August let the dark take her and drifted off to sleep.

It was hot, really hot. The roar sounded through the valley as lights flickered past her face. August knew she was back in the body of the fire beast. Suddenly, she was moving fast through the valley, tearing things apart and burning everything she came in contact with. August didn't feel the same as she did last time this happened. She still felt a sense of fear, but it was like it was coming from the beast itself. Before she could figure out what was going on, the scene changed again. This time, it was an erupting volcano. It spewed lava into the air along with plumes of ash, and August could feel it getting hotter. The scene started to change again, but just before it did, August swore she saw a hand come from the lava. The scene change was very abrupt, like she was being pulled from her current dream into the new one. As the colors started to change and shift, August realized how real this new dream looked. She was standing in a sort of abandoned department store mixed with a library. As she walked around, she noticed that the objects in the store were of an odd mix. The bottom floor had racks upon racks of mismatched clothes; shelves full of books, toys, trinkets, and sentimental objects; boxes with old records and CDs lined some shelves. August felt like she was in a very large, yet nice thrift store.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." A voice from behind August made her jump. It was one of those voices that should have belonged to a princess; very light and crisp, but confident. "So it's not just Ariadne you're so jumpy around?" It asked. August turned around to see a woman with long flowing dark hair, sparkling eyes that changed like a kaleidoscope, a figure that could kill, and tanned skin who was wearing a flowing red dress. August was almost too stunned to speak, but managed to put words together by some miracle.

"Aphrodite right?" August asked, though she knew the answer. The woman gave August a warm smile and nodded. "If you don't mind me asking my Lady, where are we?"

"This, August, is the mall of things forgotten. It might not seem like much, but it's where forgot or lost things have their resting place. I visit when I can; sentiment is my specialty." The goddess explained, motioning August to follow her. August wasn't about to argue with someone like Aphrodite.

"So is there something you need me to do for you my Lady?" August asked confused as to why the goddess of love would need to meet with her. Aphrodite continued to walk, but slowed down a bit so August was walking next to her instead of behind her.

"Not exactly. I know you've yet to run into your half of the bargain you made with Athena, and I thought I would mention that so you don't forget. However, that's not my business. My business is love and emotions, which you will certainly run into a lot of in the near future." Aphrodite said, as if it was no big deal. The goddess continued to walk as she looked through racks and shelves, as if offhandedly looking for something.

"What does my love life have to do with the quest?" August was now genuinely confused as to the order of this meeting.

"More than you think. I know that you may not think it matters, but trust me, it will. And it won't affect just this quest either; you'll be put to the test in more ways than one." Aphrodite said, but not in a threatening way.

"So are you playing match maker then?" August asked, confused. Aphrodite gave a soft smile.

"What you must understand is that I'm not here to make you fall in love with anyone, as I'm not allowed to directly interfere with my subjects' love lives. Love is supposed to happen naturally; I just push people in the right direction. I want you to know that I didn't exactly set things up to be easy for you, but I didn't set you up to fail. And that goes for the long run, not just the getting together part." Aphrodite continued to search as she talked, almost as if she was paying more attention to the search than the actual conversation.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about, but I'll take your word for it." August responded, knowing the goddess would know more about her own love life than she would.

"That's the right mind set. Ah, here we are." Aphrodite had stopped at a shelf with several expensive looking hair clips, and had pulled down a silver one in the shape of a star, studded with crystals. "You're friend lost this as a child. I'm sure she'd like it back." Aphrodite handed her the hairclip, which August turned over in her hands. Somehow, August knew that this was very important. Aphrodite motioned over towards two chairs facing an old chess table.

"Take a seat, I'm not done with you yet." Aphrodite said, smiling in a sly manner that made August wary, but she couldn't help but almost melt at it. August felt weird for almost melting at a woman's smile, but assumed that Aphrodite meant it when she said she was the seductress of all. As they sat down, Aphrodite gave August an interesting look, like she was trying to read a book, and chuckled like she had figured something out. "What would you say you're preference is?" The question had caught August off guard. The truth was she had no desire to date anyone. Boys were fun to hang out with; they didn't like drama and they didn't take things so seriously. But, she had never been attracted to them. It was one of those things she had tried to hide; August felt weird enough as it was.

"Guys, I guess." August answered, though she knew it was a bad one.

"You guess?" Aphrodite cocked an eyebrow. August knew that Aphrodite could see right through her. August took a breath and shrugged. "What about girls?" The goddess asked, but not in a threatening way. Again, the question caught August way off guard, and her mind almost panicked.

"I… huh?" She stammered out.

"Never been asked that before have you?" Aphrodite said with a small smile. August leaned back and thought. She wasn't opposed to the idea, and recently it had been looking pretty good. August shrugged again, unsure of how to respond.

"I honestly have no idea. To be honest with you, I never gave it too much thought. I've had my own hobbies and stuff, so dating and romance was never high on my list. No offence to you, I'm not saying that I'm against it." August explained, trying to make sure her words made sense.

"I completely understand. Love is something everyone needs, but it doesn't have to be the center of everyone's lives." Aphrodite got up, and August stood up out of reflex. The goddess walked over August and put her hands on August's shoulders, looking deep into her eyes. "I have faith that you'll be just fine, I just want to make sure you're on the right track. It's morning your time now, so you better be ready to face the day." August was almost too caught up in the beautiful face to answer. If she hadn't liked girls before, Aphrodite might have changed that.

"You can count on me." August promised, not wanting to let Aphrodite down.

"I know I can." Aphrodite said back as the scene started to fade out. "One more thing," The Goddess said before she started to disappear. "There will come a time where you need to trust your instincts over what you've been told. Don't worry about that right now though." And with that, the Goddess was gone.

August sat up in her bunk, bleary and uncertain of where she was. As soon as her vision cleared out, she remembered that she was back in her bunk at Camp Jupiter. As she looked around, she realized it was still early. The sun was barely out, everyone was still sleeping, and she could feel the coolness of the morning. The only bunk that was empty was Percy's. August assumed he had gone back to work in New Rome. No longer tired, she threw on some clothes and went for a walk down to the stables to visit Anatolios. The morning was nice and crisp with clear skies; good for air travel. As she approached the stables, she heard a familiar voice come from inside.

"Seriously? It's not like it will hurt! I know but… fine! At least put on a saddle blanket!" August knew that voice was none other than Percy's, and he sounded like he was having a very one sided conversation. August walked in the barn door and called inside.

"Percy? Is that you? Who's in there with you?" August called, expecting to see someone there with him. He appeared out of a middle stable, with Anatolios's head sticking out after him.

"Oh hey August! Didn't expect you to be up this early. I was trying to get these guys ready for travel today, but apparently none of them like saddles." He said with an exasperated voice.

"Who were you talking to?" August asked, not seeing anyone else in the stable with him.

"Anatolios of course. Who else?" Percy said like it was obvious. August gave him a confused look. "Oh right, no one told you my dad created horses huh?"

"You're dad created the horse?" August had never thought that Poseidon would have created the horse, but she didn't deny it.

"Yup, and I have the power to talk to them. Anantolios thinks very highly of you. He won't stop talking about how much like your father you are." Percy said with a laugh. August turned slightly pink, but smiled. She walked over to Anatolios, who looked like he'd been waiting all night for her to show up. She rested her head on the long bridge of his nose, putting her hands behind his ears.

"We're going to fly strait to hell today. Are you sure you're up for that?" August asked him. Percy looked at August, and spoke for the horse.

"Of course he is. He'd fly to the ends of the earth and back a hundred times if it meant keeping you in his sites." Percy said, obviously just as taken by the Pegasus's devotion as August was.

"I'm thinking that he's a direct descendant of Apollo's original horses right?" August thought out loud. As majestic and noble as he looked, August wouldn't have thought less.

"Uh… no. He's saying that he's not a descendant of the original two pullers of his chariot." Percy waited a second, like he was waiting for Anatolios to finish a sentence. "Oh wow. Wow. He's not a descendant; he _is_ one of the original pullers! But, he wants you to know that though he once belonged to Apollo, he's yours now." Percy finished; looking at the Pegasus like it was a whole new creature. August couldn't believe what she had heard.

"So you're really a big shot. I'm glad you consider me worthy then." August let go of the Pegasus. "Tell the other two to be ready in about an hour ok? I'll have everything ready by then." August directed, then turned towards Percy. "I have to go get ready. Will you please tell Ed to meet in 5th Cohort if you see him?"

"Of course. Make sure you know exactly where you're going… Oh wait never mind. These guys know where to take you. Besides that, be sure to keep eyes on all sides. The underworld is a crazy place filled with things that want to cause you pain. No matter what happens, keep your guard up." Percy warned. August nodded, taking his words in.

"I will. Make sure you keep these guys safe too." She added. As the two of them left the stables and went in separate directions, August started off into a jog.

"Hey wait up!" A voice from behind her stopped her in her tracks. She turned around to see Ariadne, all dressed and ready to go. "I thought I might find you at the stables, but I just missed you. So, let me ask you again; are you ready for today?" She asked. The second she asked that question, something in the back of August's mind clicked.

"You bet I am." August said. She had never been more ready.

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><p><em>I wrote this chapter after watching SAW. I have no idea how I managed to make it so light...<em>


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Mark of the Beast**

"I'm thinking we'll spend the night at my house after we get done today." August mentioned as she double-checked to make sure she had packed everything in her bag safely. She had opted not to bring up the hair clip until she could figure out how to present it without it being weird, and slipped it into the side pouch when Ariadne hadn't been looking.

"You're house? You sure you're mom will be ok with that?" Ed asked, zipping up his backpack.

"My mom is cool, you know that. She'll be fine with it as long as I play up the pitiful look." August joked, slinging her backpack onto her bunk, and sitting down to pull on her Converse. Ariadne rolled her eyes at the comment.

"What's your mom like?" Ariadne asked.

"She's totally awesome. She's like everything good about moms. Especially during the court case when she didn't freak out at me. She's a very level headed woman with a good head on her shoulders." August said, lacing up her left shoe.

"So, we ready to go then?" Ed asked. The other two nodded, and they headed out of the barrack out into the main field. Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Jason, and Reyna were all waiting there with the three Pegasi waiting with them. Anatolios looked impatient.

"Whoa calm down buddy! You guys will be off in just a few minutes!" Percy chided the Pegasus, who blew in disgust as a response. "Yeah? Well screw you too then." Percy laughed.

"Are you sure you guys don't need backup?" Reyna asked, still skeptical.

"If I did, I'd make sure you'd be the first to know. We won't need it until we're headed into Hawaii." August responded with a nod. Reyna looked a little more pleased.

"Alright, looks like you guys are good to go. Once you get into the underworld, if you see him, tell Pluto… err… Hades that I'm doing just fine and he can stop sending warriors to check on me." Hazel said, rolling her eyes. August found it hard to believe that Hades could be an overbearing father, but nodded and took her word for it.

"Make sure you guys pay the boat man on the Stix, or else he'll send word that you're coming and that means trouble." Annabeth interjected. August listened, knowing that anything Annabeth said would be important. "Don't make yourselves too obvious, the fates will sense that and that's another world of trouble. Also, don't try and fight someone just because they're in your way, there's always another option. If worst comes to worst down there, you're going to have a lot of enemies on your tail to deal with, and you'll need all the energy you have. Most importantly, be aware of your surroundings at all times, and please be safe." Annabeth finished. Ariadne nodded and gave her sister a tight embrace, which Annabeth reciprocated.

"August, I want you to have this." Frank said. August turned to face him, and he was holding an arrow with an interesting glow to it. It was silver, and it looked like it could melt if it got even the slightest bit hot. "It's a sure shot, as in it will never miss. It can only be used once though, so make it count." Frank handed the arrow over to August, who examined it with caution.

"Wow Frank, this means a lot. I'll use it only in my greatest time of need." August put the arrow in her quiver, and shook Frank's hand.

"Alright guys get situated and get going. Day light is wasting, and you've got two goals this time. No matter what happens, we're here if you need us." Jason said, shaking hands with each of the trio. August took a deep breath, and mounted Anatolios, while the others seem to do the same.

"Let's go!" August yelled, trying to work up her courage. Anatolios whinnied and took flight, with the other three following close behind. Once airborne, August felt her blood race and her courage light up. They flew along side the sun; it's light making the world seem a little less dull.

The flight took about a half hour from San Francisco to LA. As they soared above the valleys, August was able to point out to Ariadne some of her favorite places to go when she could get her mom to take her and her friends into the city.

"That down there is the Hollywood Bowl. It's where a lot of concerts play. Over there is the Santa Monica Pier. I used to spend my childhood there." August pointed out. She was so happy to see her home that the smell of smoke almost didn't register in her brain. As she looked to her left, she saw smoke rising from the valley. Ariadne saw it at the same time.

"Something tells me that we need to take care of that first." Ariadne said, looking at August. August nodded.

"Toli, towards the smoke." Anatolios did what he was told, and the team swooped into the valley. Once they were above the bowl, almost instantly the smoke made August's eyes burn. She looked down and saw the flames below her with firemen on the far edge trying to douse them, but the flames were too many. The heat was intense as August got in closer. Ariadne and Ed choked and sputtered as they flew past, and August knew that they wouldn't be able to make it in. August landed the team up on the side of the mountain to give them directions. "You guys wait for me at the entrance to the underworld. I'll take care of this thing, and I'll meet you there." August commanded.

"August, no! This is a team effort! We're going in whether you want us to…" Ariadne was cut off by August before she could continue.

"This isn't a suggestion, Arry! You two will never handle this fire from the inside!" August argued.

"Dude, we're coming with you!" Ed snapped back, August shook her head.

"No, you're not. You'll both be either suffocated or burned alive if you go in. Anatolios and I can handle the heat, so we'll be ok. Even though you've got the Pegasi, you guys would still burn." August continued, as she was about to take flight again.

"I'm not leaving you alone in there!" Ed almost yelled. His usual laid-back demeanor was over taken by anger. "Three years dammit! Three years I've worked to take care of you and make sure that no monsters came to harm you! Three years I protected you from everything, and that isn't stopping now!" August was surprised and moved by Ed's display of protectiveness, but held firm on her stance.

"I know, Ed. But, this is something I have to do alone. Without that armor, you guys will never be able to survive. You will go to the entrance of the underworld and I'll meet you there." August told them yet again. Ed fumed with worry, but didn't say anything.

"August, get off Anatolios for a second." Ariadne directed. Her face looked worry, and those gray eyes moved like a dark ocean. August didn't argue as she slipped off the back of Anatolios to meet Ariadne's eyes. Instead of chewing her out like August expected, Ariadne threw her arms around August's neck and pulled her in for an extremely tight hug. August hugged back just as tight.

"Please come back safe. Please." Ariadne begged, whispering into August's ear. August felt goose bumps on her skin from Ariadne's breath on her neck. Something clicked inside her when Ariadne hugged her. Suddenly, her courage lit up like a match.

"I promise I'll be right back." August whispered back. "Now, do as I say and I'll see you in a few." August said as she removed Ariadne's hands from around her neck Ariadne smiled back, seeming to be reassured that everything would be ok. Ed gave August a weak, but reassuring smile too, and with that August mounted her Pegasus and was airborne again.

August circled the valley, looking for the source of the fire. Branches, shrubs, and even houses were charred and burned, and August was able to follow the glowing embers and left over flames. She noticed the flames getting bigger, and the smoke getting thick. As soon as she felt the heat was at it's hottest, a roar sounded through the canyon, though August was sure she was the only one who heard it. Looking down, she saw her man. A large fire beast rippled with angry red flames, sniffing the air. He looked like a large lion, with the flames creating the mane and fur, and two hot coals where his eyes should have been.

"Toli, dive in!" August commanded, and Anatolios whinnied loudly as he dove into action. Landing in front of the beast, August drew her dagger and starred him down. "You wanted me! Here I am!" August raised her left hand and signaled for it to bring it on. August heard the voice in her head, like the one she had heard in her dream.

"The master is angry at me for not finding you earlier! You will pay for the bad you caused me!" The half roar / half voice sounded clear in her head. It surprised her that he talked with his mind as opposed to his mouth, but August wasn't really paying attention to that fact. August let her anger take over, and the heat take control. She dove into action, slicing up at the beast. To her surprise, the beast didn't strike like she thought he would. Instead, he recoiled at the sight of the blade, and at the fact she showed no fear towards him. Before August could notice anything else, the beast regained courage and slashed back, hitting August in the face with a burning claw. August's healing took over quickly; making what would have been a horrible scar disappear like it had never happened. August was mad now. She jumped in, taking another slash and hit the beast in the jowl, sending him howling and leaking dust. The beast tried to shake it off and continue to attack, but August saw him hesitate. The voice sounded again.

"YOU HURT ME! I WILL HURT YOU BACK!" It roared, and then lunged, August had the perfect opportunity to duck under it and stab upwards, effectively killing the beast, but she didn't. Instead, she ducked to the side and let it jump by her. The voice wasn't as angry as much as it was scared, and August needed to know why. She wondered if a different approach would work, considering he was sentient.

"Why do you fight me?" August asked, trying to understand it's motifs. To her surprise it answered, albeit while slashing and biting.

"Because the master has told me to kill you!" It growled, and August ducked out of it's way again.

"Any other reason?" August continued. She was hoping to get into the mind of the beast.

"What other reason do I need? If you don't die, I will suffer!" It lunged again, and August leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding it's claws. The heat from the beast was getting intense.

"So he threatens you?" August felt like she was getting somewhere.

"Yes! But he says that's what masters do!" The beast swiped again. August continued to dodge. "FIGHT ME!" It bellowed.

"No! Why would I fight someone who won't fight for themselves?" She yelled back. The beast stopped and looked at her, and for a split second August saw real fur and eyes before the flames engulfed them again.

"DON'T MAKE ME ANGRY!" It roared again and went into a fury of swiping, gnashing, and lunging. August dodge and blocked, but never attacked.

"Does he have you under a curse?" August asked, finally getting a word in once the beast stopped to catch it's breath. Suddenly, the beast looked terribly pitiful as it turned towards August.

"It hurts when the flames get too hot." The great roar it once had was no more than a whimper now. August realized that Hyperion hadn't created a beast for the soul purpose of destroying August, but had used an already living beast, and cursed it. August started to feel very sad for the creature. Then, an idea popped into her head.

"What kind of curse is it?" August asked, stepping a little bit towards the creature.

"I don't know, but it's always too hot. He says it will go away once you die." He growled, as she got closer.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Do you know who my father is?" August asked, hoping he would.

"Yes, the sun keeper Apollo." He responded, backing off a little more.

"Yes, right. He controls the heat of the sun, as can I. If you will let me, I can see if I can break the curse, but you must come here." August offered, inching a little closer.

"You'll kill me." It whimpered, backing away.

"I swear on the River of Stix that I will not harm you if I can help it. I will do anything I can to help you." August promised. As soon as she did, the beast stopped backing away. Instead, it stood very still.

"I will let you touch me. If you fail, I will kill you." He growled. August nodded, and reached a hand out. As soon as she touched the beast's mane, she felt the heat. It almost hurt, but August held strong. Closing her eyes, she used her healing senses to track down whatever the curse was, and hoped that would work. At first, she felt nothing but heat, but then she concentrated harder. Going deeper, she found a pure, concentrated energy in the middle of the beast, radiating heat. August could almost not bare it as she tried to focus on it.

"I'm going to try and heal you now, ok?" August asked. The beast complied, and August focused on the curse. Putting all of her strength into it, she sung a prayer to her father, directing it at the curse. There was a blinding light inside of August that let her know she had hit her mark, and the heat started to fight back.

"I don't feel different." It snarled. August's heart leapt into her throat as the beast got angry. But then, like a miracle, she felt the curse start to shrink. As it did, so did the flames around the beast. The beast started to get more animal like as the curse started to dissipate. More than once, August thought she might lose control over the prayer, but she quickly regained control just in time. The heat stopped fighting back, and she could see the light start to dim. More than once it fought her, but she fought back just as hard. In a matter of a few minutes, the curse had completely gone. August stood very still, kneeling before the beast without moving. Then, when a great joyous roar, the beast used it's great head to nuzzle her, knocking her over. "You saved me! You're not bad!" It purred as it continued to cuddle August, who was now pinned underneath it.

"Easy big guy, I have to get back to my friends. If you let me up, I'll let you live free!" August compromised. She did not expect the answer she got.

"I'm yours now. You're my new master." He said. August was surprised; she hadn't expected a switch in loyalty so easily. She stood up to meet the beast's eyes, and saw that without the flames, he was nothing more than an overly large lion the size of a Prius. His fur was a brilliant gold, and his eyes were an innocent cat-like yellow.

"I'm your new master now huh? Do you have a name?" August asked, not expecting one. He perked up at the question.

"My name is Newman!" He responded. August smiled. She had always liked cats.

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><p><em>Sorry this is a little late, but I was sick this weekend. Sad face... anyways, these next few chapters are back to back action packed. So yeah...<em>


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: The Land of the Dead**

August and Anatolios were airborne yet again, flying to DOA recording studios with Newman running close behind. August was happy that she could make a new friend, but now she had some explaining to do. As they approached the studio, Anatolios landed in a parking deck.

"You two stay here. I don't want people to suspect you." August told the horse and the cat. The horse nodded, and August heard Newman's voice in her head agree. She nodded and headed out of the structure to the front of the building, and saw that Ariadne and Ed were waiting for her just outside. As soon as Ariadne spotted her, she raced over and grabbed August's shoulders.

"Are you ok? How'd it go? Is it dead? Do you need us to come and help you?" Ariadne's questions shot out one after the other like a moving train.

"Yes, I'm just fine and it went rather well, and no you guys don't need to come help me. Let's get inside, shall we?" August answered coolly. Ariadne nodded and gave her another tight hug.

"I'm just glad your OK." Ed said, joining in on the hug. August wriggled out from between them.

"Enough emotional junk, time for some action!" August said, smiling and taking her backpack off. "Put these on," August took out the silver dog tags and handed one to each of them, "they'll make us seem dead." She put her own on, and instantly felt the cold of the metal through her shirt. Her whole body felt numb and cold, like she had taken a bath in ice. She looked down at her hands, which were pale and sickly as opposed to their normal tanned honey gold color. August looked up and saw that her friends had met a similar fate. Ed's leg fur was a darker brown, peppered with gray; his face pale and bags hung under his eyes. Ariadne looked like a vampire with her paler than ever skin, blue lips, and darker than night hair.

"Well this is… odd." Ed mumbled, looking at his hands.

"I feel numb." Ariadne said in a flat voice.

"We all look dead, that's what matters. C'mon, let's get inside and get this over with." August nodded towards the door and entered, her friends following. The studio lobby was sterile and white, with a few couches and chairs, also white. August walked up to the secretary. The secretary was blonde with dark eyeliner, and very red lipstick. August thought she looked oddly similar to Harely Quinn, but didn't mention that.

"We're here for our appointment." August said, leaning against the counter. The secretary looked up from her Spin Magazine and typed something into the computer.

"Right this way." She got up and led them to an elevator, pressing the down button. "Take the elevator down to the River. Don't forget to pay the boatman, and follow orders. Have a nice time." The elevator dinged and opened up. August thanked the secretary, and walked in. The other two followed in, not wanting to be left behind. They road the elevator down for what seemed like forever until the numbers started to reach the negatives.

"How far do you think it goes?" Ed asked, watching as the red numbers ticked lower and lower.

"Pretty damn far apparently." August responded. Her nerves began to act up as she remembered how dark it got in the mines. What would the underworld be like?

"The map says to get to the right of the judgment pavilion. The only problem is that it's heavily guarded." Ariadne explained, looking at the map. "Also, we should remove the dog tags before we get close to Cerberus. He can only sense the dead, so he won't be able to tell we're there if we take them off."

"But what happens after that? Even if he doesn't smell us, they'll know that something's up when they sense living people." August argued, worried.

"We just need to sneak past, then we'll put them back on right after." Ariadne suggested. August nodded and took another deep breath as she felt the elevator come to a halt. The doors opened up, revealing a large gondola made of what looked like petrified driftwood, with a hooded figure in the driver position. The trio walked up to the boat, and the driver motioned them on.

"So young. Demigods I assume?" The driver asked August as they took a seat on the boat. August worked her pitiful look and nodded.

"Furies, too many for the three of us to handle. I should have called in for backup, but I thought we could handle it." August lied, trying to make their fake death seem believable.

"Such hubris from one so young. If you try again, maybe you'll take back the lesson of humbleness." The driver chided as he rowed his long oar along the river. August looked down at the water to see toys, papers with good grades, promotional documents, even new cars and wispy apparitions of animals all floating by. It made August very sad to look at.

"Dead dreams. Everything that everyone ever gave up on comes here." The driver explained, noticing August eyeing the river. The cavern was dark, barely lit by torches. August wished she could have extended Helios, but she didn't want to risk giving away their position.

"That's so sad." Ariadne said next to August, looking over the other side. Ed was silent throughout the trip, though August could tell he was nervous. The boat approached a large pathway leading to a gate made of what looked like rusty iron. Just as August was about to get out, she remembered that she had to pay the boatman.

"Oh, here." August reached into her pocket, pulled out a few drachmas and handed them over. "Thanks for the ride."

"Your welcome. Of you three go then." The boatman nodded them forward, and they departed down the path. Once they had made it about halfway, and were sure the boatman was gone, August removed her dog tag. Ed and Ariadne did the same.

"Alright, tags off. Let's go." August directed, leading the team forward. As they approached the gate, August almost stopped dead in her tracks as she looked up to see Cerberus. He was huge, and all three of his heads were equally ugly and drooling. Thankfully, he didn't notice the living trio as they walked underneath him.

"To the right, not the left. Be quick." Ariadne instructed. August held her breath, and made a break for a large door with two serpents facing each other. As August approached, she heard Ariadne's voice call from behind.

"The door isn't used to stop mortals, just the dead! Keep running!" She instructed. August normally had a little more than hesitance about running into doors head on, but she wasn't about to slow down. She hit the door with full force, and materialized through to the other side. In front of her stood two paths. One lead to a long line of people waiting to get into a small pavilion, and the other down a long, dark path, dimly lit by floating green torches. Before August had more time to process, Ed came hurdling through the gate and fell forward, expecting to have to brace himself for the impact. August heard footsteps following, and was quick to catch Ariadne around the waste as she barreled through, so as to not let her meet the same fate. Ed stood up and brushed himself off.

"Couldn't be bothered to help a brother out?" He said rolling his eyes, but with a smile.

"Thanks for catching me, but you can let me go now." Ariadne said. August turned red as she remembered she still had Ariadne around the waste. She let go and faced the right hand path.

"This is it then. Ready?" August asked her team. They both nodded and put their tags back on before embarking down the dark path. August lead the team in silence for a few minutes, worried that anything might give away their position. Ariadne spoke up through the silence.

"Is everything ok? You've been unusually quiet since we've gotten down here." She asked August. In truth, August was terrified. There was nothing about what they were doing at that very moment that made August happy. They were literally walking to Death's door, in an underground cave with almost no light and where everything wants to kill them if they were to be found out. August wished she could have extended Helios if only to be comforted by it's glow, but knew that it was too risky. Any sign of a living mortal was a bad sign.

"Everything is fine." August responded, though it came out fast and forced.

"I'm freaking out too y'know." Ed said, taking up the back of the line. "It's not like you and I are that different in the long run. We both fear the same things."

"If I let myself be scared, it will only mean a mid-battle freak out." August took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and continued. "I appreciate you guys trying to help, but I just need to not think."

"The best way to not think is to keep talking." Ariadne suggested, appearing by August's side. August almost felt better looking into her gray eyes.

"Alright, what do you suggest we talk about?" August asked, not really interested.

"Anything. Name the topic." Ariadne waited as August thought.

"If I were to go onto your iPod right now, what would be three songs you have a hard time explaining?" August asked. Ariadne bit her lip as she thought. Ed answered first though.

"The theme song to Dawson's Creek, No Strings Attached by Nsync, and Soulja Boy Tell 'em. Don't judge me." August laughed at Ed's confession, but knew him too well to think that he liked specifically that kind of music.

"Can we just leave it at I have the entire Glee Christmas album on mine and leave it at that?" Ariadne asked sheepishly. Ed and August both laughed at that.

"Ok my turn. Mine are…" Before August could finish, she felt the floor move underneath her feet. She had grown up in LA and knew that when the ground moved, it was an earthquake. "Guys, I think we may be in the middle of an earthquake!" August shouted, trying to find a way to get shelter from under the cave ceiling that may collapse.

"August, I hate to break it to you, but that ain't no earthquake." Ed almost whispered. August looked at the ground, still shaking and cracking, and saw skeleton hands clawing their way out of the cracks. Pulling themselves up from the ground, three undead warriors materialized and formed together, all dressed in armor made from what looked like the same type of metal that Nico's tile was forged from.

"Intruders! You may have tricked the boatman and the pavilion, but we know our own magic when we sense it. You will die for trespassing, on Royal orders of our king!" One of them said in an inhuman, guttural voice. August assumed he was the leader by the silver trim around his armor.

"And who the hell are you?" August asked, drawing Helios and ready to fight.

"We're the Knights of the Dead, and we don't take kindly to trespassers." As soon as the leader finished his sentence, all three of them jumped into battle.

* * *

><p><em>One fine day in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight...<em>


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Heads Will Roll**

The clash of metal against metal rung throughout the cavern as August and Ariadne slashed and hacked away at the undead nightmares, but they always built themselves back up. Whenever they got a hit, they just reformed. Ed was trying to use his reed pipes to perform a song of necromancy, but all it was doing was slowing down the progress of his attacker. August ducked as her opponent's sword swooped right over her head, and she kicked the soldier right in the chest, sending him backwards. August was now regretting taking on the leader, as he tended to recover much more quickly than the other two.

"Is there really no way to defeat these guys?" August growled.

"We have to at least make it to the gate to the palace! I can see it from here!" Ariadne called back in between knife slashes and ducking.

"You'll be doing no such thing!" The skeleton commander hissed, slicing at August again. August retaliated with a fury of swipes, leaving the creature armless. It gave her and evil laugh as the arms reattached.

"You really think you can kill what is not living?" It chuckled, drawing its sword again.

"No, but I can outrun you." August said, and bolted towards the gate. Ed and Ariadne did the same, abandoning their attackers to keep up. The creatures spent no time waiting, and followed, though not nearly as quickly. Once the trio had reached the gate, it was locked.

"Oh gods oh gods what do we do?" Ed panicked, trying to find a lock of some sort. August looked around at the large, black, iron gate and found nothing that could help to unlock it. Feeling hopeless, she turned around to face the music that was the skeleton knights.

"Up there! That glowing gem probably holds the charm that seals the gate shut. If we could hit it, the gate may open." Ariadne said, pointing towards a green, glowing emerald at the top of the tallest rod iron spike. August was listening as she hacked her way through the knights, but was too busy to respond. She could feel the heat circulate throughout her body as she got angrier and angrier, trying anyway possible to slow down the dead knights. She thought about the arrow of true shot in her quiver, perfect for hitting the gem. Just as she was about to draw her bow, the head knight slashed again, leaving a nasty cut down August's arm. Now she was furious.

"Today was the wrong day to mess with me." August snarled. The cut healed quickly, but August barely noticed as she went berserk. In a flury of punches, kicks, swipes, jumps, and rolls, the three undeads were being banged around like old punching bags. August felt hopeless as they still reformed each time. Then, something weird happened. As August was busy fighting, she used the hilt of her dagger like Percy had taught her, and came smashing down on top of one of the knight's heads when they were off their guard. She had hit hard, and the skull had come crumbling in like it was made of plaster. At first, August didn't pay attention to the knight, continuing to fight the other two as Ed and Ariadne tried to find a way to get to the stone, but then she noticed that she was only fighting two. She turned her head to examine the wreckage, and realized that the skull was shattered, and the body was not reforming.

"August! The heads! Hades must have curse the heads! These guys are just simple pawns for Hades! Without the power source, they're nothing!" Ariadne yelled from the sidelines. Suddenly, August got smart. Another flurry of ducking and slashing occurred, but this time August was just aiming for the tops of the heads.

"Newblood, don't you know you're not in your domain? Under the surface, you're nothing! You're father's power is useless here." One of the soldiers hissed. August almost let her anger take over hearing that, but remembered that her temper would only hinder accuracy. She swiped above the head of one of the soldiers, but it ducked. She was losing speed fast; her energy was burning up too fast.

"Hold the fuck still jackass!" Her temper and energy flared up again. She swiped again, hitting the soldier in the arm and shattering it.

"Looks like we've got your number." The same soldier said in an evil smirk. August felt her energy waver again and realized what they were doing. They knew something about her she didn't, something about her energy flares. If they continued to make her angry, her energy would burn up too fast. Just as this realization hit her, Ariadne called out.

"Take a break and come shoot the stone! I'll take your post." Before August could argue, Ariadne had stepped in, knives in hand, and was fighting like a pro. August nodded and raced towards the gate, but her courage and energy both faltered when she saw how high up and small the stone was of a target.

"C'mon man, take the shot!" Ed begged, watching as Ariadne disassembled the knights for the third time, only to have them reform. August knew she didn't have much time. As she slung off her bow, she grabbed the silver line of an arrow.

"Let's hope he's right about not failing me." August said as she knocked it. She took a breath, and prepared to aim. Just as she was about to let go, Ed yelled out.

"ARIADNE! LOOK OUT!" Ed yelled, and August looked over to see one of the knights behind Ariadne who was distracted by her current opponent, sword about to plunge into her back. Without thinking, August aimed and shot the arrow, hitting the first knight in back of the skull, and going through the second right behind him. The sword had barley touched Ariadne before the knights fell to the ground in a heap of bones and armor, and Ariadne fell to her knees. August rushed over to make sure Ariadne was ok.

"Oh Gods did they hit you? I tried to get them in time but it looks like the sword may have still cut you." August was kneeling in front of Ariadne, panicking that she may have been too late. Ed appeared by her side, just as worried.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired," Ariadne reassured her friends as she stood up. "Fighting two of them at once isn't as easy as you make it look." She said to August. "You missed the stone by the way." August looked Ariadne with a frustrated grin.

"When are you going to learn that you guys are more important to me than that?" August looked over her shoulder up at the stone on the gate. Now that they weren't being pursued, the stone didn't seem like such a hard target. In fact, August was pretty sure she could make it. "My mom always told me that riddles always have more than one answer, and that gem is no different." August walked over towards the gate and knocked another arrow. "Whatch this." She aimed carefully and let go, willing the arrow not to miss. Just as she predicted, the arrow hit directly in the middle of the stone, shattering it to pieces.

"There's no way you should have hit that! Oh man! That was so friggin' cool!" Ed yelled as he watched the pieces of green gem fall.

"So glad I hit that! C'mon guys! Onward to our destination!" August said in an enthusiastic tone. They were halfway to getting out of the underworld, and back home.

"What if you couldn't hit that?" Ariadne asked, walking towards the gate and placing a hand on one of the bars.

"Then I'd find another way to get in." August responded, pushing open one side of the gate.

"So you mean to say that you'd still pick me even if you knew you couldn't hit the stone without the never fail arrow?" Ariadne looked at August like she was crazy for saving her.

"Yes, I would." August didn't get where this was going.

"You'd pick me over saving the world?" Ariadne still looked stunned.

"I'd pick my friends over the easiest route every time. I'd find another way to save the world, even if it meant my own life, but you'd come first." August said, walking down the new path to Hades palace. The path was narrow and dark, with floating torches of amber light on both sides, and trenches going to what seemed like a river of endless back terror on either side of the path. Several hundered yards down the path, a huge castle made of dark brick lit by orange light stood; an ominous symbol of dark power. August started forward, ready to negotiate with the king of darkness. Before she took her first step Ariadne grabbed her arm.

"You do realize that you chose to save my life over getting something that may be vital to saving the world right? Do you realize how big of a mistake that could have been if you were faced with a similar choice and chose your friends a second time right?" Ariadne asked in an annoyed and frustrated tone. August didn't understand why Ariadne seemed almost angry with her for saving her life. She felt her temper flare again.

"But you're here and we've still got a shot at getting the spell! Why do you care about what could have happened if it didn't?" August snapped back, angry that Ariadne didn't even thank her for saving her life with the arrow that could have been used for a thousand different things.

"Because how can I trust you won't make the same decision when we finally get to Hyperion? In the grand scheme of things, I would be the less important choice. You have to learn to prioritize!" Ariadne argued back. She looked at August with angry storms in her eyes.

"Are you always this ungrateful when people do nice things for you? This is so like you! Never really trusting my judgment and thinking you know what's best when you're not the one who's supposed to be making decisions here! You're fucking welcome by the way." August snapped. It wasn't like Ariadne wasn't making sense, because she was on a lot of levels, but August had expected more of a warmer reception to her act of heroism. August turned around and motioned for the two of them to follow. They walked the long path in silence with August seething, Ariadne looking guilty and hurt, and Ed caught in the middle not knowing what to say. They had walked through a garden full of interesting fruit trees and plants, which August inferred belonged to Persephone. The path continued for a while, winding around and finally reaching the door to Hades' palace. As they approached, two more skeleton guards blocked the giant front door.

"Halt. State your business. If it isn't a good enough excuse, we are under orders for immediate execution." The first one said. August was in a foul mood and was not willing to mess around. She felt shaky and worn out from fighting, as well as angry and bitter. She quickly removed the tile from her pocket and showed it to the guards.

"Direct request for a certain favor related to the quest we're on. This tile was given to us by Nico di Angelo, perhaps it will persuade you to let us hold court with Hades?" August was as formal as she could muster talking to the guards, trying not to make them angry, but being stern so they knew she meant business. The first guard took the tile and examined it, showing it to the second guard who nodded as he saw it.

"You may proceed. If you make Hades angry or act unfavorable towards him, we'll be back." The guard said, handing August the tile back. The big doors swung open, revealing a blood red carpet cascading down a huge hallway of bronze brick walls and a black tile ceiling. August stepped in, her cohorts following behind. As the doors swung shut behind them, August knew there was no turning back. As she walked down the hall, Ariadne finally spoke up.

"August, I'm sorry for snapping at you." She said, sounding guilty. August didn't know if she had probably only apologized to break the tension, or if it was sincere.

"No you're not. You're saying that so I won't be mad anymore." August responded, not turning around.

"So you're just going to stay mad because you can?" Asked Ed, sounding confused and ticked off.

"I have a right to be mad you know." August said to Ed. She turned back around and continued walking as she talked. "Just because you said you're sorry doesn't make the fact that you were really ungrateful towards the fact that I just saved your life in favor of my own any less hurtful to me." August said to Ariadne, still not turning around. The hall seemed to stretch forever, and August wished they'd get to the end of it so she could avoid talking. Just as she thought the hallway was some sort of sick joke, like the staircase in Super Mario 64, a large wooden door with a large scythe engraved on it came into view.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the delay guys! But, I do have some awesome news. But first, some not so awesome news<em>. _I'm going on a trip to Washington DC, which is awesome for me, but not so awesom_e_ in terms of updating. So, there will be no updates at all next week. Sad face :(. However, when I get back on Saturday there will updates on both P&tGF AND Annabeth Chase VS The Internet! And both stories will continue to be updated at least twice a week for both of them! Also, I've got a sequel in the works for this story, and a whole new adventure taking place in another fandom that I will introduce probably next month. So, until next week homies! _


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Friend of the Devil**

August approached the door first, hoping it would open automatically. At first, nothing happened, so she put a hand up to it. As if it responded to touch, the door swung open, revealing a large thrown room mixed together with an office. The room was filled with mounted heads of weird and bizarre creatures, shelves of books, and weapons with a fire roaring in the back, and a large chair facing away from them. August was in no mood to fight, but kept her guard up just in case.

"I knew you'd get here eventually. You're lucky I let you three live." The voice coming from the chair said.

"Did you let us live, or did you just not expect us to succeed?" August asked, a little irked that he had just put down all their hard work.

"Why are you here?" The voice asked, not interested in trivial conversation. August took out the tile.

"We have a request that we'd like to make. Your son, Nico, told us to show this to you." August held up the tile, and was about to walk towards the chair when a large cloud of smoke like substance appeared before her, and formed into the shape of a tall, pale, slender man with dark hair and eyes. He looked stern and humorless, but not outright evil, and his black suit glistened in the light of the fire. He plucked the tile for August's hands.

"I see you're friends of his. Very well, you may make one request. I cannot guarantee that I will fulfill it, however." He walked over to his chair and swiveled it around to face the trio, and sat back down.

"Are you aware of the uprising of Hyperion?" August asked. Hades nodded slightly, and motioned her to keep going. "We've heard that you're domain contains a spell that keeps certain parts of the underworld dark at all times. We would humbly request to use that spell in order to control Hyperion as to weaken him so we may attack him more efficiently." August explained.

"Why should I help the family that has shunned me and kept me in this cave for centuries? I will not help you on this quest, for it is not my domain in trouble." Hades responded coldly, which prompted all the bad emotions August had felt that day to finally explode.

"If you let the sun go out, you let down everyone! If you don't want to be looked down upon by your family, why would you let this happen?" August yelled, tempted to get up in his face. She didn't, because even though she was angry, she wasn't stupid. Hades gave her an stern scowl.

"You think because your father owns the sun means it's your responsibility to save it? Percy could teach you a lesson about wanting to impress your father; it never ends well and you will look like a fool. Answer me this o' daughter of Apollo, why should I help my nephew when his father gave him powers that should have belonged to many others? The greedy bastard child you call "dad" did nothing but take from those around him! Music? He stole it from Hermes! Medicine? Should have gone to Athena! Prophecy? That should have been me! To think you have the audacity to walk into my castle and belittle me for being selfish!" The god boomed. Ed and Ariadne had backed away form Hades in his temper tantrum, but August wasn't backing down any time soon.

"That's not what I'm here to do at all!" August yelled back, furious. Though, something deep inside her told her that her need for Apollo's approval was driving this train more than anything. She felt the heat in her veins.

"And why are you here?" Hades continued, not hearing August's words. "Because you're just as selfish as your father! You want all the glory so you can stand before your peers and be seen as a hero!" August didn't mean to do it, but she completely lost her cool. Her verbal attack on a god was not her proudest moment.

"Apollo took music from Hermes because Hermes didn't know how to use it! If Athena wanted medicine, she would have damn well had it, considering the fact that she's more powerful than my father ever will be. And your fates have already given you prophecy!" August argued, trying to get Hades to budge from his stubbornness with little success.

"Doesn't lessen his cockiness." Hades responded coolly. August had had it by this time.

"You look at people for their worst, but you can't ever see them for their good. Apollo gave people the power to heal their love ones, the art of music and poetry, the sun for their crops and lives, and the predictions that helped shaped their destiny. But no, all you can see is his apparent greed." August snapped back, determined to win. She took a deep breath before continuing, wanting to be smart about the next words that came out of her mouth. It was starting to hit her that she was arguing with the god that held her eternal fate in her hands. "You give people three chances to prove their worth. If they succeed, it's on their own terms. Same if they fail. Give me a chance to prove to you that I am not a selfish hero wanting the glory." August finished, now scared shitless at what she had just done, but furious and determined. Hades looked at her with a face of pure hatred, but suddenly went stolid and perhaps even a little soft.

"It is true that I give people chances to prove themselves. I'll strike you a deal. I will give you the spell to use at your expense. If you succeed in defeating Hyperion, I will let you walk free and give you the same opportunities as everyone else. But," He turned around and faced the window of her thrown room that looked out into a vast trench of darkness, "if you fail, which is a large possibility, I send you back here and put you in Tartarus for all eternity for speaking to me in such a way." Hades snapped his fingers, and a black chain necklace with a pendant in the shape of a black sun appeared. "You may channel the spell through this pendant. Do we have a deal?" Hades asked. August had no idea what to say. If she succeeded, great. If she failed, she was sent to the place where all of her darkest fears lived for an eternity of suffering.

"Hypothetically, what if I say no to this deal?" August asked, looking at the pendant in Hades' hand.

"Then I wipe your memory of ever being down here and send you back up to the surface empty handed. You will probably fail, and the world will be plunged into cold and darkness." Hades responded completely unemotional. August knew that she may regret her decision, but she nodded her head.

"We have a deal. I'll succeed, I promise." August said, taking the pendant. As she grabbed hold of the chain, she felt a sharp prick on the palm of her hand.

"Ouch! What was that?" August asked as she watched a drop of blood rundown the chain and hit a floating piece of paper underneath. As soon as it hit, the paper burst into flames and disappeared.

"The contract is sealed. You have two more days to succeed before your soul is mine. Now, get out of my palace this instant!" The god roared, and smoke started to envelop the trio.

"You have my word!" August yelled, and the smoke engulfed her vision, turning everything black.

When August regained vision, the team was located in front of the Hollywood sign, over looking the city. Normally, August would have loved the view, but instead she was freaking out. Still stunned at everything that had happened down there, she leaned against the W of the sign and took a few deep breaths.

"I can't believe you did that." Ed said in a flat, stunned tone. He looked at August as she tried her best not to vomit.

"Ed shut up! I think I may be sick." August said, looking down at the ground. She breathed deep, being very close to throwing up out of fear. She had no idea why she snapped at Hades and then said yes to the contract, but something in her head told her to protect her friends, which meant the contract was the only option.

"August, why did you do that? That was a horrible and clearly not thought through idea!" Ariadne whined, sounding angrier than ever.

"Ariadne this isn't about you right now ok? I just signed my soul away to protect the earth and if I fail I'm completely screwed. To make matters worse, I'm having a panic attack because I just realized that I'm in way over my head and I have no idea how to defeat a Titan!" August yelled. She felt like she was made of glass, and someone had just taken a hammer to her, completely shattering her. August slumped down on the ground and put her head between her knees, letting scared tears fall. August didn't feel like a hero, just an irresponsible teenage girl with a lot of responsibility.

"Whoa dude, come here, it's ok, we're going to get through this." Ed said, sitting down next to her. He put his arm around her. She sat up and put her arms around his neck, burring her face into his shoulder. "You don't always have to be the strong one." Ed said, comforting her. August sobbed into him, feeling absolutely helpless. As if on cue, August heard Ariadne's voice cut through the silence.

"Ed, go get the Pegasi. I can handle this." She said kneeling down next to August. Ed nodded and pulled August off of him.

"I'll be right back." He told her, giving her a warm smile. He quickly jumped down the hill, and out of site. August wasn't terribly happy that he had just left her with Ariadne, thinking Ariadne would probably give her a "why you suck" speech, but she didn't protest.

"Will you please look at me?" Ariadne asked. August rested her head on her knees and starred out unto the horizon, watching the afternoon sun and saying nothing. "Okay fine, you don't have to, just listen." Ariadne said. August didn't look over, but prepared for the worst. "I've been a terrible team mate today, and worse, a terrible friend. I shouldn't have snapped at you after you saved me. I uh… I kind of thought you were being selfish at the time for saving me as opposed to paying attention to the mission, but I realize now that was the most selfless act you could have done. I mean, you could have used to arrow to take the shot at the stone for your own benefit, but instead you chose me. Also, it was shitty of my to yell at you for taking the pact with Hades. Again, it was actually incredibly selfless of you to sacrifice yourself in the name of millions. In short, I'm a terrible bitch sometimes and you're truly one of the nicest people I've ever known in my life, please accept my apology." Ariadne finished. August didn't respond at first, thinking over her words carefully. After a few seconds, she answered.

"I wasn't really mad at you because I had done so much for you and I didn't get a thank you. I was mad because I thought you didn't care. I was really hurt because I thought all you saw me as was a pawn in this war, thinking of the quest before anything. But now I see it's kind of the opposite." August wiped her eyes on the shoulder of her shirt before continuing. The tears had thankfully stopped. It had become clear to August that Ariadne was someone who acts in anger when presented with fear.

"When you made the pact with Hades, I thought I had lost you for sure. I still think that. I know you can do this quest, but I'm also aware that Hades can hold grudges forever. August, as cold as I come off sometimes, my rivers run way deeper than you may think. If I you die on this quest, I'll never be able to live with that." Ariadne said, more serious than August had ever heard her. August finally looked over to face Ariadne, and was moved when she saw tears streaming down her face.

"Are you as scared as I am?" August asked.

"I'm mortified." Ariadne said through tears and nervous laughter.

"Good" August said, moving closer to Ariadne.

"Why is that good?" Ariadne asked.

"Because that makes me feel less alone." August responded. Ariadne started to laugh, confusing August.

"What on earth is so funny right now?" August asked, a little annoyed.

"Here I thought I was going to have to baby you through this whole thing, and yet here you are making all the adult decisions." Ariadne said with a smile. August blushed at the compliment, but didn't mind it as much as she used to. "You're full of surprises aren't you?" Before August could answer, Anatolios landed behind Ariadne.

"Hey there you are!" August said standing up. Ariadne turned around and stood up too at the sight of the Pegasus. August gave the Pegasus a hug, happy to see him ok. As she looked him over to make sure he hadn't run into any monsters, she heard Ariadne gasp.

"August… don't move. Don't make any sudden movements." Ariadne whispered, sounding like she had just seen a ghost. August looked up to see Ariadne holding completely still, pale and eyes wide. She turned to the other side of Anatolios to see two huge yellow cat eyes staring at her.

"Master! You're ok!" Newman barreled into August and wrapped his front legs around her, toppling her over and pining her down. He then proceeded to rub his giant head against her body, purring like a bad engine.

"Oh my Gods August hang on!" Ariadne was about to draw her knives, but August stopped her.

"NO! No, it's ok Arry, he's mine! I'd like you to meet Newman." August lifted the lion's head up, turning it towards Ariadne. Ariande stood there stunned for a second before saying anything.

"August, do you know what er… Newman, is?" Ariadne asked, staring at the beast and then back to August like they were both insane.

"Totally awesome?" August asked as Newman went back to nuzzling.

"August, he's a Nemean Lion, and a baby one at that!" Ariadne squealed half out of fear and half out of frustration, watching Newman cuddled August who was still pinned underneath him.

"A what now?" August asked through fur, not really listening.

"A Nemean lion! They're big lions with golden fur impenetrable to mortal weapons and claws as sharp as immortal swords! They grow to be the size of Hummers!" Ariadne explained as she started to panic a little. "Hercules once… "defeated" one with the help of my mother, but she later told me that the one he 'defeated' was a kitten!" Ariadne said, using the word defeated carefully.

"Ok, so he's a totally bad ass lion, and he's on our side! How's that bad?" August asked.

"Where did you find him and why is he in love with you?" Ariadne asked, now confused.

"You know the fire beast I took care of? Well it turns out it was Newman under a fire curse Hyperion put on him. I removed the curse, and he thanked me by letting me become his new master. So now I have a pet Nemean lion and that's awesome!" August explained. Ariande stood there, mouth open not knowing what to say. "Newman, let me up please!" August asked her new pet. Newman did as he was told, and let her get up. "Come here Arry, let me introduce you."

"August I don't think that's such a good…" Before Ariadne could continue, Newman introduced himself with a big, rough, wet lick up her side. "OH GODS EW!" August cracked up as Newman proceeded to nuzzle Ariadne, much to her protest.

"See, he likes you!" August said in between giggles.

"I get that now make him stop!" Ariadne said, trying to back away from Newman, but failing as he kept moving forward and proceeding to nuzzle her regardless.

"Newman! Newman come here big guy!" Newman turned to August and waited for a command. "Arry wants you to stop now ok?"

"Ok, I'll stop. Where are we going now?" Newman asked, sitting on his haunches and cocking his head to the side. Just as he asked, Ed on Ammon circled in and landed, Aurora landing next to him. Ed almost jumped out of his skin when he caught site of Newman.

"Relax Ed. He's on our side." August explained, hugging Newman around the neck. Ed looked at her stunned.

"Ok, but you're moms going to freak for bringing home yet another cat." Ed said. August laughed, knowing how true that was.

* * *

><p><em>I'm back! And stories shall be updated galore! The final update schedule is P&amp;GF on Mondays and Thursdays, with ACvsTI on Tuesdays and Fridays. New chapters for both, and I've even got a sequel in the works for P&amp;GF (that I actually like better at the moment). Big stuff ahead, stay turned! <em>


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Who Say's You Can't Go Home?**

August directed the team back to her house, with Newman following close behind beneath them. August should have been happy to return home to her room and see her mother, but she was actually very nervous. Even though she had written to her mother several times since camp, explaining everything that had gone on, she had deliberately neglected to mention the quest so her mother wouldn't freak out, stating she was on an off campus camping trip for the next week. Now that they were home, she'd have to explain everything that had happened, and she knew her mother would not take it well. The anxiety reached its full peak when they circled and landed in August's back yard. Wanting to get everything over with as fast as possible, August dismounted off of Anatolios, and proceeded to run towards the back door.

"Everyone wait here while I got get my mom." August called back to them.

"Ok, but don't be long. Newman may eat the trampoline without you here." Ed warned, watching the lion sniff out his new surroundings. August raced inside, and was instantly comforted by the familiar smell of ginger incense that her mom loved to light in the house to make it smell good.

"Mom! Mom where are you? I'm home for a little while!" August called out. At first she didn't hear anything, but then her mother came running down the hall from her office.

"August! August honey you're home! How did you get here?" Her mother looked tired, like she had been working a lot since August left, which was common during the summer. Before she could say anything else, her mother pulled her into a tight hug, in which August hugged back. "Oof! Honey you've gotten much stronger since we've last seen each other! Ease up a bit!" Her mother pleaded.

"Sorry, it's the combat training I guess. I feel like a terminator." August said as her mother looked her up and down.

"You look like one too. I can see that they really do train heroes at Half-Blood. I bet you could cage fight if you wanted." Her mother joked, tearing up at the sight of her daughter. "Why are you home?" Her mother finally asked. August sighed and worked up the courage to tell her mother the truth.

"Do you remember when you used to tell me of heroes that would go on quests to save the world? Like Hercules or the brave Vikings?" Her mother nodded. "That's what I've been chosen to do. Please follow me, I've got some people I'd like you to meet." August said, directing her mother outside.

"August I don't understand. What do you mean quest?" Her mother asked, looking very scared and worried.

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything once I introduce you." August said, pulling her mother out to the backyard, where her teammates and the animals had all taken to doing different things. The Pegasus were grazing, Newman was lazing on his back next to the trampoline with Ed laying against him, and Ariadne was doing flips and jumps on the trampoline like a circus performer. "Hey guys, I'd like you to meet my mother!" August called out to them. The Pegasus looked up, Ariadne stopped jumping, and Ed stood up. Newman was still being a lazy cat.

"Oh my. Oh wow. You've… really collected a broad here." Her mother looked pale, and August did her best to calm her down.

"Relax, all the animals will go live at camp, and these two are mostly harmless." August said pointing to her friends. Ariadne got off the trampoline and walked over with Ed. "Ok so this is Ed, you know him best sans the furry legs and horns." August said as Ed laughed.

"Nice to see you again Ed." Her mother said, giving him a hug.

"It's good to be back." Ed responded.

"And this is one of my friends I wrote you about, Ariadne." August said, pointing to her friend.

"Hi, I'm the friend she wrote you about." Ariadne joked, shaking her mother's hand.

"Oh yes, I've heard many great things about you." August's mother said as August turned pink. "Though she neglected to mention for linage." August's mother said, taking a good look at Ariadne.

"Oh really?" Ariadne looked at August with an annoyed look.

"I don't think I really mentioned anyone's lineage besides Percy's and Annabeth's." August said, remembering how she tried to make her letters seem less surreal and little more like she was writing from a real camp.

"Well, let me see if I can guess." Joyce said, eyeing Ariadne up and down.

"It may or may not be easy." Ariadne said, rubbing her neck.

"Well you're not built like a brute warrior, so I'm guessing Ares is out of the question." Ariadne nodded as August's mother continued to guess. "You're hands aren't rough and you're petite, so that's a no to Hephaestus, and by the eyes and shoulders I don't think you're related to August here. I'm stuck between Athena or Aphrodite." Ariadne turned beet red at the latter.

"I… uh no. Not her." Ariadne stammered, embarrassed.

"So it's not Aphrodite then?" August's mother laughed.

"Nope, my mother is Athena. Brains before bronze as they say." Ariadne responded, still slightly pink.

"And who are these beauties?" August's mother turned towards the Pegasi, who looked up at them being mentioned. Her mother reached out a hand to the nearest one, Aurora, and stroked her snout.

"These are the descendants of the chariot pullers of Apollo. The one you're petting is the mare, Aurora. The blue one with the beard is Ammon, and mine, the only one who's actually an original chariot puller is Anatolios here." August said, giver her horse a strong pat on the side. He lifted his head with pride at his name.

"Gifts from your dad? Well isn't he full of it." Her mother said until her caught site of August's newest pet. She went pale again at the sight of Newman lying on his back, watching them upside down. "August, what is that?"

"That's Newman, the Nemean lion! He's my newest pet, but don't worry, he's going to go live at camp." August explained. Her mother walked up to Newman and ran a hand over his belly.

"He's massive! How big are Nemean lion's usually?" Her mother asked.

"He'll be the size of a Hummer when he's full grown." August said, sheepishly.

"Oh my God. And you've decided that it's a good idea to keep him?" Joyce asked, stunned.

"Well I mean… he wanted me to." August responded, unsure of how to explain herself. Her mother looked around at the new team and sighed.

"You three, inside. I'll make a late lunch, but you've got some explaining to do."

Once inside, her mother and Ed had taken to making sandwiches while August and Ariadne talked in Greek about what to do with Newman.

"I'm sending a letter tonight to the camp letting Percy know he's coming, and then I'll send him in the morning." August said, taking a sip of green tea.

"How do you know they'll take him with open arms?" Ariadne asked, skeptical that the camp would love having a large lion on their hands.

"Percy owns a hell hound the size of a medium sized war tank. How could they not take him?" August argued.

"Good point. Make sure Annabeth knows too. Anything not humanoid that stumbles into camp property will quickly be dispatched of if they don't expect it." Ariadne reminded August. August nodded.

"When did you have time to learn Greek? Or does it come naturally? I never know with you sometimes." August's mother asked from the counter covered in bread and cold cuts.

"All demigods can speak and read Greek naturally. That's where the dyslexia comes from, because we're not programmed to know or learn any other language." Ariadne explained.

"Really? Well that explains a lot. What about the ADHD? Or is that just August?" Her mother asked.

"Battle instincts. We've all got it too." August responded.

"Any other super powers I should know about? Besides the weird healing you seem to have." August's mother was now paying full attention to August, leaving Ed to stack the sandwiches on his own. "I can't have you accidentally breaking furniture."

"Well my music ability is apparently a DNA thing, which explains why I was able to just read sheet music without practicing. There are also natural skills in archery and acrobatics, as well as good knowledge of medicine. Oh, and I can heat things up and touch hot stuff." August said, taking an ice cube out of her drink and concentrating on it. It melted as soon as she focused. "It's a little anticlimactic if you ask me."

"It's helped you out in more than one way." Ariadne reminded her.

"What about you Ariadne?" Her mother asked. Ariadne perked up.

"There's nothing you have to worry about with me per say. I can't burn the house down like someone in the room." Ariadne gave August a playfully aggravated look. "I'm naturally gifted in academics and the arts. I've never made anything below an A. I'm also really good at battle strategy, fighting and combat, as well as weapon combat." Ariadne said, looking proud. August smiled at her friends pride in her heritage. "Not to mention building and creating things. Also… well actually that's about it." Ariadne finished, looking like she was about to say something else. August decided not to push her about it.

"The brains of the bunch huh?" Ariadne nodded humbly as August's mother continued. "Now, talk to me about this quest. What are you doing, and why does a lion play into this?" Her mother asked. August took a deep breath and focused. She told her the whole story from start until now, not leaving out details. She told her about the train and the werewolf, Hephaestus, the Pegasi, flying, fighting, traveling, the Roman Camp, The Underworld, and even Newman. When she finished, her mother was unusually still and serious.

"Holy shit August! This is some pretty serious stuff you're dealing with. They've chosen you above everyone else, and you've taken it with stride. I'm proud of you." August was surprised at her mother's acceptance of the whole ordeal.

"You're not mad?" August asked, stunned that her mother took it so well.

"I'm terrified of what comes next, but happy because you're doing so well." Her mother confessed. "I can't say that I approve of you running around and fighting monsters. But, if you're gonna do that anyways, you've got a pretty good team on your side." August smiled and nodded, then yawned.

"Sorry, really tired. I did a lot today." August said as she yawned again. Ariadne yawned right after.

"I guess it's contagious." She said with a laugh as Ed yawned.

"I think I need a nap." He commented. August nodded.

"You three go rest, I'll clean up. When are you leaving again?" August mother asked as she put away the dirty dishes.

"Tomorrow at dawn. We'll wake you up and let you know, don't worry." August explained. She hugged her mother again. "Thanks for understanding." August said, genuinely thankful.

"I'm a mom, it's what I'm here for. Anyways, naptime for the three of you! Go! Go! Out of the kitchen!" Her mother shooed them out, and August showed them her room upstairs.

* * *

><p><em>I've got 4 back to back non-action chapters, but they get a lot of character development, plot details, and set up going so just bare with me. After that, every chapter except for maybe the epilogue is an atom bomb of action. I've seriously got no rest stops for these guys after chapter 31. So, if you're complaining about how boring these chapters are, you won't be for long. Stay tuned! <em>


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Let It Out **

Ed didn't make it upstairs as he opted to pass out in the guest room, no doubt because of the fact he could have an entire bed to himself. August didn't mind, and lead Ariadne upstairs to her own room. August's room was more like a converted attic, but it was very nice and spacey. Her mother had taken the east facing triangular wall and put in a wall of large windows, bathing the whole room in natural light. Posters of bands, TV shows, movies and games lined the walls, and it was split down the middle between sleeping area and recreation. On one side, her bed sat with her dresser, closet, and coat tree; on the other were her guitars, CDs, movies, records, and her small sofa and a TV sitting on a low coffee table. It was cozy and peaceful.

"Well this is my territory. Forgive the mess over there," she pointed to the sofa with scattered CD cases on it, "I was trying to figure out which to bring to camp and which to leave behind. Not the easiest decision." August said with a laugh.

"I don't mind, no worse than mine at home." Ariadne said falling onto August's bed. August did the same on the other side of the bed, and looked up at the ceiling, which she had covered in band and movie posters over the years. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." August said, waiting for a question.

"Will you tell me about the dream that made you mumble loudly in your sleep last night or am I going to have to find some way to interrogate you for the information?" Ariadne threatened jokingly. August had no idea she talked in her sleep, and turned pink at the memory of the dream she had. However, she felt that now was as good a time as any.

"Yes, I had a dream last night. It started off as normal, err… as normal as half-blood dreams go, but it quickly dissolved into this mall. The mall was like a huge thrift store, where a ton of old stuff was just sitting around. I didn't know what was up until I met…" August trailed off trying to think if she really wanted to continue. Something told her that explaining the dream might get awkward.

"You met…?" Ariadne goaded, trying to get the rest of the story out.

"I met Aphrodite." August said. She stopped for a second before continuing. "Turns out the mall is where lost things go for a final resting place. She told me to be aware of a side of a bargain I had made with Athena." Ariadne cut her off at the name of her mother.

"Is this the same pact he mentioned when he appeared in the fountain?" She asked, looking worried. August nodded.

"Anyways, Aphrodite reminded me of that bargain, and she also told me about some… other… things." August suddenly felt a wave of emotions hit her, and realized she really didn't want to get into the other half of the dream with Ariadne. She had fully realized that Aphrodite was talking about her relationship with Ariadne. August was getting hotter as her nerves started to act up.

"Things? That's totally specific. What do you mean 'things?'" Ariadne asked, waiting for an answer. August took a deep breath before continuing, thinking of any excuse to talk her way out of the situation she had dug herself into.

"I don't know. I mean she said something about a plan for me in the near future, but who knows what that means. And that could be now or it could be years away. It's all subjective when you live for as long as the gods do." August wished Ariadne would drop the subject.

"A plan? Like a relationship?" Ariadne asked with a small smile, the kind that she loved to use when teasing August.

"Maybe, she wasn't really clear." August explained, hoping to hand wave the whole thing away. She then remembered the hair clip burning a hole in her pocket, something that couldn't be explained away. "Anyways, we walked over to this large bookshelf full of hair clips, and she told me that this," August reached into her pack pocket and pulled out the hairclip and handed it to her, "belonged to you. And that's where I got it." August watched Ariadne's expressions carefully. At first she was stunned, then she smiled at August gratefully. August couldn't help but melt a little.

"I lost this my first summer at camp while swimming. It was a gift from my father." She said, clipping it into her hair. "I was a complete wreck for a few days afterward. You don't know how much it means to me."

"Well you can thank Aphrodite for that. I'm just the messenger." August said, trying to be humble. Ariadne looked at August again, but this time with an analyzing expression.

"You're hiding something from me still." She said. August felt the heat get more intense. She got off the bed and walked across the room, unable to sit still. She stopped and looked out the big windows at the city, but she didn't feel any better.

"It's not really important." August responded scratching the back of her neck, desperately hoping to just drop the whole thing.

"What makes you think its not?" Ariadne asked, flipping over onto her stomach and staring at August from the bed. August wished she could implode.

"Well for one thing, I'm not even sure I understand what she meant." August lied. If she could turn back time, she would have just said she had a bad dream about Hyperion.

"I'm good with complicated things." Ariande said, not easing up.

"Like the rubix cube?" August joked. She finally looked over to see Ariadne's expression.

"Oh that's it, you're going down." Ariadne said with a mischievous smile. She jumped off the bed and ran over towards August like an angry cheetah. August, realizing her mistake in teasing the only person who could beat her in a fight, took off back towards the bed away from Ariadne. However, she wasn't fast enough as a swift tackle stopped her halfway. She landed on her back, the thick shag carpet she had laid down as homage to the 70's breaking her fall. Ariadne rolled off of August and sat next to her Indian style.

"Look, I may not be the best at emotions, but I can tell it's bothering you." Ariadne said, giving August an empathetic look.

"It's not that its bothering me really, I just wish I knew what she meant." _Or what she wanted me to do about it. _August completed in her head. She silently damned Aphrodite for putting her in this position, and on a quest of all times.

"You must know something." Ariadne said, trying to figure it out herself. "I mean, she wouldn't bring it up without you already knowing vaguely what she's talking about right?" She asked. August was in a state of pure confusion as her emotions continued to not make a lot of sense. Did she love Ariadne, or was it just some sort of weird hormonal girl crush? They had indeed been through a lot, but August wasn't sure how to feel. Or maybe she did know how she felt, she just didn't want to admit it. August felt the heat again, and was sure the carpet would be smoking in a few seconds, and she was also sure that Ariadne could feel it. There was no way she didn't.

"I mean I could guess, but then again who knows." August replied, turning her head away. The whole conversation was overwhelming, and the idea that she may just be in love with her best friend wasn't exactly comforting news. It was bad enough that she was having this conversation with the person in question, and worse that the person was sitting in a very close proximity to her, playing with her hair.

"Ok fine, we don't have to talk about this." Ariadne said, still stroking back August's hair. Though she was relieved to drop the subject, August was sure that this wouldn't end well.

"I just need some time to figure things out." August responded. Thankfully Ariadne got up and offered August a hand. Ariadne pulled August up to her feet and gave her another curious look.

"What?" August asked, looking at Ariadne for an answer. She shook her head in response.

"Nothing. You're just hard to read sometimes." Ariadne answered. August didn't know what to think of that statement.

"I think I need to lay down." August admitted, walking back towards the bed.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Ariadne agreed, and lay down next to August again on the bed. As they lay there, August's heart and head raced against each other, trying to sort out scattered emotions. August finally thought it through; yes she was unmistakably in love with Ariadne, and had been since they first met. It wasn't the stupid flirty teen love that she had seen all over TV and in her school; it was like a bonded connection between them. But there were problems with that realization. One, she was fourteen; much too you to be in true love, and much to young to understand her sexuality fully. And two, she had no idea if Ariadne even was open to the idea of dating another girl. August was burning up on the inside by this point. There was no way she couldn't say something. Suddenly, she sat up and turned, sitting on the edge of the bed facing away from Ariadne.

"August, are you ok?" Ariadne said sitting up herself. August was shaking with nervousness, but had to say something, even if it risked everything their friendship stood for. August waffled for a few seconds with herself before answering.

"I think I love you." August said, flat and direct. She didn't turn around to look at Ariadne for fear of rejection.

"I'm sorry?" Ariadne asked sitting up, sounding confused and a little shocked.

"I love you, Arry. I just didn't realize it until now." August stood up again, not wanting to stand still anymore. "It's weird, I know. I've known you for like, three weeks and here I am confessing these bizarre and deep feelings I have for you, but it's like I've known you forever. But don't worry, I'm not expecting you to feel the same way." August had moved back to the window, staring out at the skyline. It helped calm her a little bit to put distance between them. "And yeah this is really awkward for me too." August said, leaning against the window, letting the late afternoon sun warm her.

"Wow." Ariadne said from the bed in a flat, but surprised tone. August still refused to look her in the eye, but Ariadne didn't sound angry. Suddenly, there was a large sigh. "Thank the gods. I thought my feelings were unrequited." August was stunned to here what Ariadne just said and was sure she was dreaming.

"Arry… you… er I mean… what?" August stammered out, looking back at Ariadne who was sitting on the bed giving August a beaming and relieved smile.

"Here I thought I was chasing a hopeless cause." Ariadne remarked as she jumped off the bed and ran over towards August. "You don't know how happy this makes me!" She squealed as she threw her arms around August's neck. August was almost too over taken by shock to respond, but regained bodily function and put her arms around Ariadne and exhaled deeply. A great weight had lifted off of her, leaving a euphoric feeling in its place. However, confusion took over, and she unhooked herself from around Ariadne and looked her in the eye.

"You're saying you feel the exact same way?" August asked, too happy to believe what was happening was true.

"Yes!" Ariadne nodded enthusiastically. August's head spun; this was happening so fast. "I thought you would never pick up on all the hints I've been dropping, or that you just didn't want to." Ariadne said, looking a little worried.

"Hints?" August asked, wanting to make sure she was thinking of the same things Ariadne was thinking.

"Oh come on seriously? Sleeping next to you on the train, that whole conversation by the fire the first night, the one on the temple, everyday at camp when I'd tease you and give you a hard time. You really didn't pick up on any of that?" Ariadne asked, looking a little hurt. Truth be told, August had, but had shoved it out of her mind thinking that Ariadne was just being nice.

"I did, but I just didn't want to play it off as something more." August responded, scratching the back of her neck. Ariadne bit her lip and looked away, looking a little sheepish.

"Well to be fair, I wasn't exactly sure if you really were interested or not because of the fact that I had no idea if you were even interested in girls, or if you were if you would be interested in a book nerd like me, or if I was even interested or if I just found you really fascinating. Well I found that I was interested when you started showing up in my dreams more frequently so I tried to be subtle but that didn't work so I tried getting closer with you but then I backed off because I started to freak myself out thinking that if I proceeded to be too direct and I was wrong I'd scare you and then I'd be even farther off from my original goal and then we got into a fight and I thought I had messed everything up…" She stopped to take a breath and looked at August. "Oh Gods there I go rambling… I over analyzed things didn't I?" August smiled and hugged her again.

"I kind of feel like we both did." August mumbled into Ariadne's shoulder.

"We're really bad at this." Ariadne said was a slight chuckle, moving to look August in the eye.

"So what? We'll figure it all out event…" August was cut off by a kiss, sending her head spinning. She felt like she was on fire as she kissed back, but she didn't care. It didn't matter what was happening around her, or what was going to happen during the quest; this moment in time was perfect. Suddenly, August felt too hot, like she was literally burning through her shirt, and broke the kiss.

"Whoa damn! Too hot, too hot!" August panted as she backed up a little. She looked down at her hands, which were now steaming and bright pink. Her head snapped back up to Ariadne upon hearing her laughter.

"Sorry," She said through giggles, "I guess we'll just have to figure out a way to control that." She put her arms around August's neck again and looked her in the eyes. Storm cloud grey was starting to become August's favorite color. "Are you ok?"

"I'm doing amazing actually." August said, a permanent smile spread across her face. She removed Ariadne's hands from around her neck and walked over to the bed. "Are you coming?" She asked, noticing Ariadne not following her.

"Oh! Of course!" Ariande raced over and flopped down on the bed, giving August an expectant look. August flopped down beside her, and Ariadne rolled over on top of her. August didn't remember who started kissing first, but it didn't matter. She also didn't remember how long they had stayed that way, but she was sure it lasted a good while. August was euphoric afterwards as Ariadne collapsed on top of her.

"Why weren't we doing this weeks ago?" Ariadne asked, muffled by her hair as her dark brown locks fell all over her face and August's neck.

"I have no idea." August laughed. "You know what the best part about us getting together is though?" August asked.

"What?" Ariadne asked from August's neck.

"I get to do this!" August said, wrapping her arms around Ariadne and squeezing tightly.

"Ease up! Can't breathe!" Ariadne forced out from August's death grip.

"I'm going to keep squeezing you until I feel like it." August playfully growled. Ariadne responded by managing to break free of the grip and straddle August.

"I'll gut you!" Ariadne responded with a mischievous smile, trying to pin August's hands back. Her plan failed as August grabbed her hips managed to flip her on to the bed; reversing the previous position they had just been in.

"Gods you're beautiful." August sighed, looking down at her. Ariadne turned bright red and closed her eyes.

"You think so?" She asked, looking up at August with the cutest look August had ever seen; a mixture between sheer adoration and embarrassment.

"Yes I really do." August responded. Ariadne smiled and stroked August's face.

"So what now?" She asked. Though August was sure she wasn't talking about the impending quest and more along the lines of what do to right at this very moment, those thoughts worked their way into her head. Much to August's displeasure, the good feelings were started to waver in place of anxiety again. Though she had the greatest wish in the world granted, August couldn't help but worry that the whole thing could come crashing down tomorrow in the midst of battle. Trying to take her mind off of the quest, August thought fast.

"Well I'm no longer tired." August said standing up before Ariadne could say anything else. "Lets go jump around on the trampoline!"

* * *

><p><em>Here's the shipping chapter in all of it's glory. I decided that instead of waiting until the end like most stories do to get it out in the open before the final battle, because it's going to play a large part in August's decisions during the fight. Also, these last three chapters are kind of the only truly happy chapters in the rest of the story, so enjoy them while you can. <em>


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: The Pretender**

August had chosen to show off flips and jumps while on the trampoline, landing perfectly each time.

"Quit being a show off!" Ariadne said. August obeyed and flopped down on the trampoline and looked up at Ariadne.

"Ok I stopped, now what?" August asked giving a sly smile, hoping for another kiss. August did not get what she was expecting as Ariadne jumped and landed as hard as she could, sending August flailing in the air and falling back down. "Ok, I get it! I'll stop being a show off!" August said as she landed.

"Good, only because you're cute enough without being cocky." Ariadne stroked August's hair back and was leaning in to grant August's wish when something caught her eye. "Oh no. Newman! Newman down!" Ariadne had crawled over to the side of the trampoline where Newman had chosen to try and climb up. Her command wasn't heeded as he pulled half of himself up and proceeded towards August. Ariadne jumped out of the way, and the trampoline sank in with weight as Newman pinned August down and went about his usual nuzzling.

"Master! I went for a walk and I saw the ocean! I didn't go in, too wet. But I did see some fish and some crabs and some…" August tried to cut him off from his rambling before she suffocated under his mane.

"Newman, get off!"

"And there were people throwing disks to each other…"

"Newman I seriously can't breathe!"

"And then I tried to drink the water but it was salty…"

"Newman c'mon man!" August was obviously not being heard as Newman proceeded to lick and nuzzle her whole body in adoration.

"Arry! Help!" August forced out in between laughter and physical struggle against Newman's head. Either Newman wasn't listening, or he was too preoccupied to notice August's pleas to stop.

"Why would I do that?" Ariadne said, now laughing herself at the picture before her. Suddenly, Newman stopped everything he was doing and sniffed the air. His eyes went wide and his ears when back as he gently got off the trampoline. August sat up and watched him walk towards the fence.

"Newman, what's wrong buddy?" She asked, concerned about the sudden change in behavior.

"I'll be right back. I smell something off." Newman said as he hopped the fence. August watched in confusion as he sprinted off, but her attention was quickly redirected as Ariadne got back on the trampoline and crawled towards her.

"Now where were we?" She said, her brown curls falling over August as she leaned into her lips. August reciprocated gratefully, until she was completely caught off guard by two hands pulling themselves over her fence. She shoved Ariadne off ready for a fight, but panicked as she remembered she had taken Helios out and put it on her bedside table during her 'nap' with Ariadne.

"Look who it is! I haven't seen you around for weeks." Connie said as she landed in August's back yard. She stood up to meet August's eyes. Connie didn't look any different than the day they had left her. Her hair was still in it's short anime cut, she was wearing a pair of black shorts, and her shirt was an Invader Zim shirt that August had given her last year as a birthday present. August would normally have been glad to see her old friend, but instead was furious.

"Because I was sent away to behavior rehabilitation camp after you ran off! I got arrested that night." August snapped, taking a step away from Connie.

"Dude, I wasn't going to camp or whatever. It sucks that you got caught though." Connie responded trying to seem cool. August noticed how unlike herself she was. The Connie she knew was funny and hyperactive, but also caring and loyal. This Connie had the hyperactive down, but not the caring part.

"Seriously? This is so unlike you." August said, angrier than before.

"What is?" Connie asked, climbing on the trampoline.

"Everything. How can you not care that Ed and I got caught?" August asked, thinking that something was very wrong.

"Who's this newbie?" Connie asked looking over at Ariadne who had gotten up and stood behind August when Connie hopped the fence.

"That's none of your…"

"My name is Ariadne." Ariadne said, cutting August off. August could tell she was mad. "I assume you're the little bitch who left August hanging." August looked over at Ariadne, stunned but happy that Ariadne was standing up for her.

"I see we've got a fighter in our midst. Not a bad choice there August." Connie ribbed. If it weren't for Ariadne's hand on her shoulder telling her no, August would have strangled Connie by now.

"Connie, I think you should go." August said as calmly as possible. Connie cocked and eyebrow.

"That's not very nice." Connie argued, sitting back down on the trampoline.

"Well you certainly haven't been." August snarled. Connie at first seemed angry, but then let her face go into a peaceful smile as she stood up.

"Fine, I'll leave. I'll see you after the summer is over. You won't stay mad forever." Connie said, pulling herself up over the fence.

"We'll see about that." August replied, turning back towards Ariadne who looked just as mad.

"Tell Ed I said hello." Connie said as she jumped back over the fence. August was happy she didn't have to deal with Connie anymore, considering the fact it would have probably ended in a fight. August took a deep breath and tried to make the heat go away just as her mother opened the back door.

"August, come inside! Connie is on the phone!" August looked confused. Why would Connie be calling her right after she left? "August, seriously come in! It's expensive to call from Korea!" August froze hearing that. Why would Connie be in Korea? Suddenly, August doubled over and fell to her knees, clutching her head. She felt dizzy, but like she was remembering something at the same time.

"August! Are you ok? Come back to me!" Ariadne knelt in front of August and took her face into her hands. "What's going on?"

"Connie… goes to Korea during the summer… during the summer… she's in Korea." August mumbled as the memories came rushing back. August stood up and half stumbled half ran inside to the living room where her mother stood with the phone in hand.

"There you are," her mother said handing her the phone, "don't take too long like last summer ok?" Her mother said with a wink. August was still a little dizzy from the sudden memory rush, but put the phone up to her ear and tried to sound as normal as possible.

"Hey Connie! How's Korea treating you?" August asked.

"Totally awesome! Your mom told me about the incident and going to the camp. That's a total bummer!" Connie said back, sounding genuinely sorry, like August expected her to be.

"Don't sweat it. It's actually been a really good thing for me. You should see the muscles I've racked up!" August bragged, feeling a little better.

"Haha, well I guess I've got some catching up to do. No running allowed here I'm afraid. Is Ed doing good?" Connie continued. August started to feel awful again as she realized what was going on.

"Ed's great actually. Both of us have been doing pretty well at camp." August said, not really lying.

"Meet anyone interesting?" Connie asked. August flushed as Ariadne came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, making sure everything was alright.

"Oh yes, many many people." August was still trying to piece together the puzzle laid out in front of her.

"That's awesome. You'll have to tell me about them later. Well I hate to cut this short on you, but my grandma is yelling at me to come to breakfast. Twelve hour time difference, you know how that goes." Connie laughed. August could here the family members in the background.

"I'll see you when you get back Connie." August said with as much genuine emotion as possible, even though she was freaking out on the inside.

"Alright, love you chika! Bye!" Connie said, and the sound of a click on the other end was heard. As soon as August put the phone down, she sunk into a chair and put her head in her hands.

"August? August, talk to me. What happened?" Ariadne prodded as August began to hyperventilate yet again.

"How could the mist be so strong? How could I have forgotten about Connie going to Korea?" August berated herself, trying to make sense of how this could have happened. For the past two years she had known Connie, Connie had gone to Korea over the summer to visit her grandparents. "I have to wake up Ed. He has to known." August growled, standing up and racing to the guest room, Ariadne not far behind. As soon as they reached the door, August opened it up and started shaking Ed awake.

"Ed! Ed, get up! Something really bad just happened!" August squeeled as Ed jumped up.

"What? What happened?" He said, now wide awake and ready to help.

"Ed," August started in a tone as calm as she could manage, "Do you remember that Connie left for Korea a week before school got out? How she took her finals early so she could skip that week? Ed, think hard." August prodded, trying to figure out if her theory was right. Ed sat back down on the bed, trying to think.

"I remember that she left, yeah. I remember… remember… she wasn't there the last day of school… last day… Korea…" Ed was piecing things together much like August had, then his eyes went wide. "Connie left for Korea the week before break. I remember that!" He seemed happy to remember, but then his face went blank and pale. "August?"

"Yes Ed?" August waited for him to continue.

"Who the hell was with us that night?" Ed asked in barely a whisper. August looked at him with a similar face, then got up and ran to her mother's office. She banged on the door, hoping her mother could hear through her headphones. Thankfully, her mother answered.

"Mom! Mom I need to know something about the night before the incident!" August said, her words melding together as they came out.

"August, love, calm down! What's going on?" Her mother asked, grabbing her daughter's shoulders and looking her in the eye.

"Mom, remember the night of the incident?" Her mother nodded and August continued. "That day before it happened and Ed and I were doing homework, who was with us? Anyone?" August asked, her eyes pleading for an answer. Her mother thought hard before answering.

"It was you and Ed, that's all I remember. Connie had left by then." Her mother answered. August shook her head in disbelief.

"You don't remember Connie being with us?" August asked, hoping her mother had just forgotten.

"No sweety, you two were on your own. It surprised me that you got into so much trouble without her." August froze up at her mother's certainty. "August, what's going on?" Her mother asked, now looking worried. August turned around to the doorway to see both Ed and Ariadne standing there, looking very worried.

"Guys, I think I found our mole."

* * *

><p><em>DUN DUN DUUUUUN! Two more of these talky chapters and then I'm opening a can of whoopass on y'all. Also, you should go listen to Under Pressure because it's an awesome song and stuff. Rawr. <em>


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Changes **

Dinner was had over battle plans and strategy discussion as the trio had sat down and began to plan. Joyce had made stir fry, but August had barely touched hers as they talked.

"If Percy shows up with the troops, which I'm sure he will regardless of if we tell him to or not, we'll send troops on the eastern side of the island second, but we'll send in the majority of the better fighters west first so we can catch them by surprise as they charge from the front." Ariadne suggested, drawing x's and o's on the map to mark troops and monsters. August took the pen from Ariadne's hand and marked Mauna Loa, the biggest and most active volcano on the island.

"And this is where I'll be with Anatolios." August said with a sigh.

"And you'll be just fine." Ariadne reassured her with a smile.

"What about us two?" Ed asked, wondering his position in the battle.

"Ed, you'll be with the Hectate cabins from both camps in the center location. I myself will probably end up leading the eastern troops." Ariadne explained, marking their respective locations on the map.

"If they don't send troops, are you sure you guys will be alright?" August asked, worried about her friends well being.

"We'll be fine. You don't need to worry about us, just yourself." Ariadne said as she took another bite of stir-fry.

"This is insane." August's mother said, taking a sip of coffee from her mug. August knew her mother wouldn't be sleeping at all that night. August always assumed her protectiveness came from the fact she was a single parent, but her recent outing as having always known Apollo's true identity made August more aware of how her mother viewed their life. She was always trying to keep August safe and away from anything that might try and hurt her, worrying constantly. August felt guilty for all the nights of lost sleep she had caused. She would have to make it up to her somehow.

"I know, and I'm sorry." August said, standing up and giving her mother a hug.

"It's the price you pay for heroism though. Just be safe." Joyce said as August let go. August could only hope they would be.

After dinner, August took a long, hot shower and jumped into some sweats. After re-packing her bag, and sending a letter to Percy about the new member of the Half-Blood pet family, she walked outside and lay down on the trampoline, happy to have a moment to herself. Ed, who flopped down next to her, quickly disrupted the moment.

"It's a great night out." He remarked, looking up at the stars with August. "Where's Arry?"

"Showering and packing I believe." August answered, not wanting to talk a whole lot about anything. Of course, Ed decided to be nosey.

"What the hell happened between me leaving you two at the Hollywood sign and now?" He asked, turning his head to look at August. August didn't want to get into quests or romance, but almost had no choice.

"What do you mean?" She asked, hoping that acting oblivious would negate Ed's curiosity. It naturally had failed.

"She hasn't been able to take her eyes of you. I mean, she's hung on every word you have to say." He said, sounding irked that August would dare try to play stupid with him.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about, Ed. I mean, we're close friends." August said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, close." Ed deadpanned. "Are you seriously going to leave it at that?"

"Yep." August answered, not budging. She looked back up at the stars, letting her mind wander to the next day. It would be rough and it wouldn't be easy, but she had done everything she could to prepare. It bothered her that her friends wouldn't be by her side during battle, but not because she needed them to fight with her. She was worried for their own safety, knowing that there was still the possibility of them not making it off the island with a pulse. Just as she closed her eyes and exhaled, the trampoline sagged on the other side of her, letting her know another body had gotten on.

"So this is it then?" Ariadne asked. August didn't need to open her eyes to know who's body the direct, soft spoken voice belonged to.

"Yeah, I guess so." August sat up and met her eyes, "Are you ready?" Ariadne smiled and nodded.

"Will someone please for the love of Gods tell me what the hell happened between you two?" Ed demanded, burning with curiosity. Ariadne just smiled and leaned against August's shoulder as an answer.

"Huh?" Ed looked at them for a second before it dawned on him "OH! Goddamn it's about time." Ed remarked, smiling at the two of them. August looked at Ed, confused as to what he meant.

"What are you talking about Ed?" August asked in a half annoyed tone.

"I thought it was obvious." He said, lying back down. "But whatever. People figure stuff out in there own time." August responded by flicking him in the ear. "Ow! Ok sorry." Ed mumbled, lying back down.

"I have a feeling I'm going to have some weird dreams tonight." August said, going over the week's events in her head.

"That's ok," Ariadne said, still leaning against August, "I think we all will."

After heading back inside for bed, August stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, hands behind her head in sweat shorts and a sports bra, looking at herself in the reflection. It startled her how different she looked in just three weeks time. Looking at herself in a full mirror lead to her discovering a number of subtle, yet somehow at the same time drastic changes. She was no longer lanky and wiry looking, but had actually managed some form of a figure, grown a bit taller, and was cut like a diamond. It wasn't like she had gained any more muscle; she had just honed the ones she had. She had always been fit as it came with the love of parkour. But she knew that parkour didn't make you look like this. Hard work and fighting monsters made you look like this. But something seemed a little off; there was no way a normal person would build muscle so fast.

"How did this happen so fast?" August asked to out loud to herself.

"Is that a rhetorical question, or do you really want an answer?" Ariadne asked, watching August as she walked over to the bed and pulled on her shirt as she sat down.

"Actually I really wanna know. I've heard of crash dieting, but this is absurd." August responded, looking at her arms.

"Ok, it has to do with biology and how muscles are made." Ariadne started. August rolled her eyes. "Hey, you asked! Anyways, muscles get bigger with exercise why?"

"Because the muscle micro-tears and reforms better than before." August answered, having learned basic medical biology from Will.

"Ok good. Now, what is your body programmed to do better than anyone else?" Ariadne asked.

"Heal." August responded quickly.

"Right, good. Now think of it this way. If you're constantly moving and exercising for three weeks strait causing those micro-tears, all while your body is instantly healing them, that just means that you're body is building muscle faster than a normal human body ever could." Ariadne finished, squeezing August's arm. "I wouldn't worry too much though. Females don't gain muscles like males do." August gave a half hearted chuckle leaned against Ariadne's shoulder, thinking. She sighed as she realized how much more had changed besides her body. Her whole world as she knew it had been flipped upside down by the arrival of her lineage, leaving nothing but a long path of confusion in it's wake. She had to change almost everything about how she thought and how she acted just to get by. Ariadne sensed her unhappiness.

"What's wrong?" Ariadne asked, trying to get August to be more open so she could help her.

"Everything I knew and loved about my old life is different." August said, shaking her head and trying to form cohesive sentences in her head to explain how she was feeling. "It kind of just hit me about all the stuff that changed. I'm kind of really important, and I have to prove to people that I can do what they expect me to." August lay back onto the bed, looking up at a poster of Morgan Freeman she and Ed had put up as a joke. She smiled remembering life before Half-Blood.

"That may be true, but you've done some amazing things. You yourself even said that Half-Blood was the best thing that ever happened to you." Ariadne said, looking down at August.

"I'm not saying it's not. Half-Blood gave me so much that I didn't have. It showed me a whole new family, skills I never had, responsibility, and most importantly you, but I still don't understand. Why me? I'm not the kid of one of the big three like Jason or Percy, I'm not super smart like Annabeth, I'm not super good at wartime tactics like Reyna or Clarisse, and I'm not tall like Will. Hell, I haven't even figured out the other two parts prophecy yet." August complained, feeling behind on her duties.

"Hey, I like you short!" Ariadne said with a smile, kissing the top of August's head. "And besides, we might have figured out a part to the prophecy without even knowing it. What exactly where the other two parts again?" Ariadne asked, though August knew she knew the answer.

"A choice must be made in the dead of night, the master of sun a beacon of light." August recited. She mulled it over in her head, trying to figure out what she had to do next.

"Well ok. Have you made a choice or anything like that? Could it have anything to do with the bargain between Apollo and Athena?" Ariadne continued.

"I don't know. I mean, he said I would have to do something for Athena, and that I would know it when I saw it." August answered. Something in her head clicked as she went over the line "dead of night." It seemed like she should know what it was saying. "Arry? Do prophecies always mean what they say, or can they have double meanings?" August asked, looking to Ariadne for answers.

"I suppose they could," Ariadne answered, looking at August curiously. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I already finished our bargain and the second part of the prophecy." August said, trying to make sure her theory made sense. "In poetry, things don't always mean what they say they do. 'Dead of night', think about that. What did we do today?" August asked, sitting up and looking at Ariadne.

"We went to the underworld." Ariadne said, almost as a question.

"And who did we fight exactly?" August asked, trying to lead Ariadne towards her theory.

"We fought the guards." Ariadne answered.

"What kind of guards?" August prodded further.

"They were knights. Dead knights. Dead knights…" Ariadne repeated, starting to make sense of it. "Dead of night! It's a metaphor isn't it?" Ariadne said, now getting it.

"I think so, and you were my choice." August confirmed, with a smile. Ariadne turned pink and looked away.

"I'm still really sorry for getting mad at you today." She said, looking like she might cry again.

"I forgive you." August said, kissing Ariadne on the cheek. Ariadne looked at her, as if studying an ancient piece of art.

"A lot has changed between us." She said finally.

"I like that it has." August responded.

"Me too." Ariadne nodded with a smile. August tilted her head to the side, looking at Ariadne.

"When did you know?" August asked.

"When you first showed up on my cabin's porch." Ariadne responded, shrugging her shoulders and turning bright red. "I guess that's why I was so guarded the first few days. It was so fast that it honestly scared me half to death. I've never been good with emotional stuff, and I guess I just wasn't ready for something this big to hit me." She gave a soft smile and looked at August. "Hey August?" Ariadne said, moving closer.

"Yeah?" August looked at Ariadne, who had yet another mischievous smile on her face. August knew this wouldn't end well, whatever she had planned.

"You've got something on your shirt right there." Ariadne said, poking August in the stomach. August squeaked and flinched in surprise, which caused Ariadne to giggle. "And there." She poked August in the side, and once again August flinched.

"Stop!" August whined.

"And there and there and there." Ariadne responded with more pokes around August's midsection, causing August to squeal with laughter and shy away from the touch. She had always been very ticklish.

"Stop it!" August whined through giggles.

"Ticklish are we?" Ariadne remarked, now tickling August's stomach. August squealed and gave into fits of laughter, having her worst ticklish spot on her stomach. "I'm taking that as a yes." She smirked as August jumped off the bed.

"Yes yes ok! You found my weakness!" August remarked, out of breath and trying to figure out a revenge plan. "Truce?" August asked, though she was lying.

"Yes fine, truce. Now get back on the bed." Ariadne demanded, patting the bed beside her. August sat back down next to her, playing it cool.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you something." August said, faking her revelation. Ariadne looked at her expectantly.

"Yes?" She asked, waiting for what August had to say. August smiled evilly.

"I lied." August growled as she jumped Ariadne, pinned her to the bed and proceeded to tickle her under the arms.

"AH! August you jerk!" Ariadne squealed as she broke into helpless giggles.

"I never swore on a truce now did I?" August said as she resituated herself so she could reach Ariadne's feet. She shrieked and writhed as August tickled her toes, which August found hilarious. She moved down to the arches, but that was a mistake. Ariadne shrieked and kicked August in the stomach, and pretty hard.

"Oof!" August stopped and rolled onto her back holding her stomach, which was now aching. "Oww… ok I'll stop it… where did you go?" August looked up to realize that Ariadne wasn't on the bed anymore, or anywhere near the bed. In a matter of literally a second, Ariadne had managed to break free from August's grasp and appear all the way across the room next to the windows.

"I… I'm over here." Ariadne said, in a sort of sheepish manner like she had been caught doing something bad.

"How did you get over their so fast?" August asked, confused. August knew what being fast was like. She ran everywhere she went, always one step ahead of her friends. But even she couldn't have made it over to the other side of the room in that amount of time.

"I… ran?" Ariadne said, though it came out more of a question.

"You ran. Arry, it took you like, half a second to get over there. Even I'm not that fast." August got up and walked over towards Ariadne.

"I'm fast too you know." Ariadne responded. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ariadne wasn't in front of August anymore. "I think I'm getting better at this." Ariadne said more to herself, now behind August, though August swore she didn't see her move.

"Arry, how are you doing that?" August was now as confused as ever.

"I don't know, it just happens sometimes. Remember when I told you about Athena's gift of advanced speed?" Ariadne said, looking worried, like she would break anything she touched.

"But you said that hasn't been seen in over two hundred years." August reminded her.

"Now it's my turn to be the liar." Ariadne said, sitting back down on the bed.

"So you got it then, the gift. This is incredible and amazing and awesome and totally outstanding!" August said enthusiastically and clapping, once again amazed by her friend. Everything made sense now; Ariadne appearing behind her all the time; how she managed to jump into battle so quickly; how she was able to evade enemies so well. Ariadne wasn't just trained to be quick, she was born to be.

"It's basically useless though." Ariadne said, looking almost angry. "I found out I had it when I was about seven when I was able to get out of the way of a car that I had accidentally walked in front of. Ever since then, it happens when I'm in the face of danger, scared, stressed out, or just not paying attention to it. I can only control it if I pay attention to it and concentrate really hard. Other than that, I'm either stuck paying attention to controlling my speed or actually fighting and not dying." Ariadne sighed and lay down on her side and curled into a ball. August sat next to Ariadne and let her put her head in her lap, trying to think of a way to help.

"But what if we practiced using it like how I practice with my heat. I remember you telling me that things make more sense in context, like in books when certain things make sense there but not anywhere else. Well, what if powers and stuff work the same way? Practicing in actual battle where it actually makes itself present seems like a good way to get the hang of it." August suggested, trying to be the smart one.

"You know, that could work. But, let's not dwell on it right now. Let's get some sleep." Ariadne suggested, getting under the covers. August followed, also incredible tired from the massive day she had had. Just as she was about to turn the light out, Ariadne punched her in the arm.

"Ow! What the hell woman?" August asked, confused.

"Don't tickle my feet again and don't tell anyone my weakness. I will remove fingernails if it comes down to it." Ariadne said, pointing at August like a bad dog. August looked at Ariadne and smiled.

"Only if you promise me the same."

"Deal." Ariadne said, turning the lights off. August lay down, still nervous for tomorrow. But to her surprise, sleep came easily.

* * *

><p><em>Hello everyone, and welcome to the second to last boring ass talking chapter until I drop an action bomb on 'err one. I know most of you who read this are wondering where the hell Annabeth Chase VS The Internet's update is. Well the answer is simple; I went to go see THE HUNGER GAMES with my friends on Friday (and it's so fucking good you MUST see it), and I took the day off because of that. So, I'm doubling up updates on Tuesday and Wednesday. Not that you cared. Whatever. ENJOY! <em>


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Walking on a Dream**

August drifted off to sleep rather easily. She had had a long day, and it felt good to sink into her own bed and drift off. Her dreams didn't come as coherent as they recently had; in fact, they didn't make any sense. All she got were glimpses of an angry volcano, Percy and Jason rallying troops, and Chiron getting Half-Blood ready. The dreams swirled around her mind like a floating pool of jello, jiggling and slithering around. Suddenly, they all started to swirl away into a black mass, giving way to an ever growing light. August tried to focus in, and was greeted with being surrounded by light gray on all sides. It was like she was walking into a vast void of absolutely nothing. As she looked around, she figured there was nothing to do, and that this was obviously some kind of test from a God. So, she started to walk. She walked for what seemed like an eternity until a voice broke the silence.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to take care of some unfinished business with the other eleven." August turned around to see the same man she had seen in the Iris message staring at her with her same eyes. Apollo hadn't changed since they had last spoken. His hair was still shaggy and sandy blonde; he wore a flannel checkerboard shirt rolled up to his elbows, jeans, and sandals; and he looked impossibly human if it weren't for the glowing aura around him.

"What is this place?" August asked, looking around at the void of nothing. She wondered why her dad would pick such an empty space to have a conversation. He smiled at her.

"I don't know. What is it?" He asked, giving her a mock inquisitive look.

"I believe you're telling me it can be wherever I want?" August asked, trying to get an answer.

"That's correct. Where do you want to be?" Apollo asked back, motioning around him at the nothing. August looked around and thought hard. The only place she wanted to be was somewhere quiet and peaceful, but sunny and warm. As she concentrated, she felt sand beneath her feet, and heard waves. As she opened her eyes, she was on a beach with white sand, blue skies, and a nice breeze.

"I want to be here." August responded, looking around at her work.

"That's a nice choice there." Apollo said with a soft chuckle.

"So, what's the occasion?" August asked, starting to walk down the beach. Apollo walked next to her and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

"It's just a check up. I wanted to make sure you were doing ok." He said with a warm smile. "Well, I also wanted to tell you a few things."

"Like…" August said, motioning for him to continue.

"Like the fact that I wanted you to know some things about my previous children." Apollo said, looking stolid. August wasn't sure what that expression meant, or if she wanted to know about previous children. Apollo shook his head and continued. "I've had my fair share of kids, I'm not going to lie. Many of them ended up being valuable members of armies. Archers, doctors, and physically adept warriors all came from my bloodline. I've also had my fair share of artists too; poets, musicians and writers." He explained, picking up a seashell and examining it. "Long ago, when the Gods were still worshipped under Greek rule, I once had a son named Pyrros. Pyrros was a beautiful, strong, young man with a natural disposition for good. He isn't in any sort of legends or literature, because he was born at the same time a better known hero came around, Heracles."

"And Heracles over shadowed him?" August asked.

"Bingo." Apollo said, giving her a wink. "But Pyrros didn't let the fact that there were great heroes before him slow him down. He was fast on his feet, and faster with a dagger and bow. Pyrros was the best warrior of any child I've ever had." Suddenly, Apollo's easygoing blue eyes went angry, something August thought she'd never see. "But he was cocky and careless."

"What did he do?" August asked, now enthralled in this story of her ancestor.

"Pyrros had a bit of a problem with being less than; he had always wanted to be in the same leagues as the other heroes in his family tree. He thought that he could be every bit as good as his cousin Heracles, and in many ways he was." Apollo looked off into the distance, as if reliving a distant memory. "Do you know of the twelve labors of Heracles?"

"Yeah, I think so." August responded.

"Well so had Pyrros. One day, he decided to prove that he was as good as his cousin and that he himself could take on his own labors, so he tracked down a really gnarly beast to challenge. Well that beast ended up being more than he could chew." Apollo said with an annoyed and angry tone.

"What kind of beast was it?" August asked, thinking that he had gone up against a kraken or a hydra. Apollo gave a soft laugh and looked at August.

"It was a Nemean lion." He responded. August went pale hearing the name. "Heracles had gone up against one previous to him, so naturally Pyrros thought he could too."

"Why couldn't he?" August asked, wondering what went wrong.

"Well Heracles had a few advantages, like advanced strength that allowed him to strangle the beast with his own arms. Pyrros didn't exactly have that. Well, he also went up against an adult Nemean lion. I think you get the picture." Apollo said, looking at August with a sarcastic look and an eye roll. "But he did have a weapon made of Celestial Bronze, and very good strength, though not as matched as his cousin. So he fought with tooth and nail to try and bring down the beast, and the beast did the same exact thing. In the end, Pyrros didn't defeat the lion and was sliced to bits." Apollo finished with a sour look on his face, just like a father who had expected his child to do better. And yet, there was sadness behind his eyes.

"That's really sucky." August said, feeling awful and angry, yet incredibly sad. She didn't understand why, but something about the story made her want to break something.

"You're telling me. It cost me a bruised ego on my part. You don't see Athena's or even Poseidon's kids acting like that. Maybe Ares, but even then I'm not so sure. I didn't want to make that mistake again with one of my children." Apollo responded, flipping the seashell. He turned to August and gave her a small smile. "Thankfully, most of my kids after Pyrros like to fight on the sidelines. Even my musician kids prefer it. I can't tell you how many times it pained me to see George give Paul the lime light." Apollo rolled his eyes and shook his head. "And then you came along." He said, giving her another proud smile.

"Me?" August asked, looking at him now shocked. "Is that bad?" Apollo chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"No, it's not bad, it's very good." Apollo said like she was the coolest person ever.

"What's so awesome about me?" She asked.

"Well there's the side of you that's rational and thinks things through. You know your limits, but you're not afraid to go to them. But, you also find other ways to solve things and know that violence isn't always the first answer. Newman seems very happy with his new master." He said with a soft laughed. "But, there's another side too. A much more powerful side." Apollo said, with an interesting smile on his face. "Anyways, have you figured out the bargain?" Apollo asked, changing subject. August didn't like the abrupt change, but didn't press him for more information. He wouldn't have given it to her anyways.

"I think so. I mean, I made a choice with dead knights." August said, rubbing the back of her neck, nervous that she may be wrong.

"You're right, that was a choice." Apollo said, being vague again. His expression didn't let anything slip. "And are you satisfied with your results?" August wasn't sure she knew what he meant at first, but then the realization dawned on her.

"Uh… yeah. Yes. I'm uh… yeah she's pretty awesome." August stammered out, heating up again. Apollo gave a quiet laugh, and continued.

"That's good. I wasn't too worried about you two. My kids have never really been clear-cut in that department anyways, but then again I haven't either. Athena wanted me to let you know that she'll carry out her daughter's previous threat of removing your eyes if you don't treat this relationship seriously. Just a heads up." Apollo said with a wink. August smiled and nodded, but was fully aware of how serious Athena was.

"I'll keep that in mind. So, do I get a tip on how to defeat this Titan?" August asked, meaning Hyperion. Apollo thought for a second and answered.

"If you really want my advice, you can do it without that pendant." Apollo said, poking August in the chest where the pendant lay.

"I can? How?" August was confused as to how she could manage to defeat Hyperion without it.

"You've got that power built in! Don't tell me you thought all your heat bending was good for was cooking poptarts and shit? How do you think I manage to get so close to the sun without burning?" Apollo asked, looking at August like she was completely dumb for not noticing before. August looked down at her hands and examined them. They were rough from years of guitar and grabbing a hold of her surroundings in running. But something told her Apollo was right; these hands could be used for so much more.

"So what do I do with the pendant then?" August asked, touching the cool black metal.

"Give it back!" Apollo said, again looking at her like it was obvious.

"I can't! I've pissed Hades off too much already." August protested, annoyed at herself for making the dumb pact in the first place.

"Then let Ariadne or Ed take it! You want them to fight along side you right?" Apollo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Yes I do. Ok, I'll give it to Ed, seeing as how he doesn't have a weapon of his own." August concluded, nodding her head more to reassure herself than her father.

"That's my girl." He said. patting her on the back. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?" August asked, eager for more of a hint.

"You know the sun is a symbol of courage right?" He asked. August looked at him like it was a strange question.

"I… sure ok." August didn't know how to respond.

"Well just think about that for a while." Apollo smiled, still looking at her. "Well then, I'm sorry to say I must be off."

"I'll see you around then." August said, almost sad to say goodbye.

"I'm the sun carrier. You see me every day." Apollo joked. He gave August a hug, which August reciprocated gratefully.

"Thanks dad." August finally said after breaking the embrace.

"For what?" Apollo asked with a curious smile.

"For everything." August said with a nod. With that, the world around her started to fade into gray, and the images blurred.

"You're my best yet! Don't forget that!" Apollo yelled, though it still sounded far away as his image faded into the gray.

August woke with a start, but was unable to sit up. Something had her in a vice grip around her waist, making it impossible to move. She laid on her side, trying to get her mind in focus for a second before moving her hands down to her waist, feeling the two smooth arms wrapped tightly around her. It took her a split second to realize that Ariadne had managed to wrap herself tightly around August in the night, burying her head into August's neck. August smiled and relaxed as she realized their position, and settled down into the pillows again. It didn't last long, as Ariadne woke up shortly after August relaxed again. She jerked, unwrapping her arms from around August's waste and sitting up.

"Uh… good morning." Ariadne said seeming slightly embarrassed, though August couldn't tell if it was just early morning haze or not. August rolled over unto her back and giggled.

"Good morning to you too." She said, propping herself up with her elbows. Ariadne removed the hair tie from her hair, allowing her long locks to fall over her face. August envied her beauty as she ran her pale fingers through her dark hair.

"It's so hot here. Is it seriously always this hot?" Ariadne complained as she redid her ponytail.

"Yeah, it comes with the territory." August said standing up and walking over to her dresser.

"And you can stand it?" Ariadne asked sounding partially annoyed.

"Yeah. Heat never bothered me. Come to think of it," August continued pulling a new shirt and shorts from her dresser, "neither did the cold." As soon as she said that, there was a pop, and a letter appeared in front of her on top of the dresser. "I think my response from Percy just arrived." August remarked, picking up the envelope. August had sent a letter to Percy before going to bed last night, asking him to take in Newman and to be at the ready today. She opened the envelope with the small sized Helios and read out loud. Percy, thankfully, had written it in Greek.

_"Hey August! Great to hear that you guys made it out ok form the underworld. As for Newman, I will make sure that he is given a warm welcome, and a good home here at both camps. Annabeth is looking forward to actually seeing a Nemean lion up close, and Jason wants to hook him up to a chariot and ride him into battle. Chiron has made sure that Half-Blood is at the ready, so don't be worried about us not having enough numbers. Stay safe, and we'll be there before things start to go down. Keep us posted._

_-Percy"_

August nodded in approval as she finished reading, knowing Newman would be in good hands. Just as she folded the letter and placed it back on her shelf, and even louder bang sounded, and a large package dropped onto her couch.

"I think our armor is here" Ariadne said, jumping off the bed and walking over to the box. It was more like a crate made of plywood that was about as big as the entire sofa. August unsheathed Helios into its full form and pried open the lid, reviling three smaller crates inside.

"This is it then." August said with a deep breath. She pried open the crate with her name, letting the wooden lid fall to the ground. Inside, beneath the packing straw, was the shiniest set of Greek armor she had ever seen. Ariadne had to shield her eyes away from it.

"Whoa! That's really bright!" Ariadne said, looking back down at it, squinting.

"You're telling me." August said with a hushed tone. She pulled the breastplate out, with glittered in the sunlight. The metal was a pale yellow with swirls, and was surprisingly light. The armor didn't look any different from a normal set, save for it's shininess, but just felt powerful. "I have a feeling Hephaestus is very proud of his work." August examined the armor, admiring the craftsmanship. She almost dropped the armor as a loud roar sounded outside. August almost forgot that Newman had come home last night. She threw on some new clothes and rushed down stairs to the backyard, where Newman was sitting on his haunches, waiting patiently.

"Master, I found the source of the odd smell." He remarked, very proud of himself. August saw that he had something in his mouth that was limp and dark. As she stopped in front of her, he opened his gigantic maw and let what looked like a wet towel fall to the ground. "I tried to bring her back here in one piece, but she struggled too much and I bit down too hard. She exploded into dust." His voicing went from proud to ashamed as he mentioned his mishap. August looked at the black mass on the ground and picked it up. It was damp with saliva, but August managed to shake it out into it's full form. As it rolled out, August saw that it was the same t-shirt the imposter had worn yesterday; the Invader Zim logo still visible. August smiled at Newman and hugged him around his big neck, proud of his protectiveness.

"You did just fine, Newman! If anything you come across smells like that again, I give you full permission to attack." August said, burying her face into his mane. He started up his motor like purr, once again becoming proud of his efforts.

"We better get ready if we want to make it to Hawaii by sundown." Ariadne mentioned, putting a hand on the other side of Newman's head. August looked at her sideways from Newman's mane and nodded, not taking her face fully away from him. August felt completely safe with Newman around, and she didn't want to have to send him away so soon.

"Okay. Newman," August looked Newman in the eyes, "I need you to go to camp Jupiter. Do you know where or what that is?" August asked, hoping he did.

"Yes! The Roman camp that the old, bad master told me about. He said you might be there, and that if I failed to find you here to look there. I know where it is! Do you need me to go there?" Newman asked, ready to take any commands.

"Yes, unfortunately I do." August said with a sad smile. "When you get there, you'll meet a guy named Percy. He'll make sure you're welcome and well taken care of."

"Ok master! I'll see you later then!" Newman said with another playful lick up August's stomach. August stifled her laughter and gave him one last hug.

"Alright then buddy, I'll see you soon." August gave him a hefty pat on the side, and Newman promptly hopped the fence, and out of site.

* * *

><p><em>This is the last plot based really long kinda wordy chapter. The next time you see a chapter without something trying to kill something else won't be until the end, so hope you enjoyed this break. Also, I kind of realized that I had unconsciously added a tickle fight into both of my stories, which was unintentional, but kind of hilarious. Maybe I'll make it a running gag, who knows? Also, Hunger Games movie is awesome GO SEE IT NOW BLARRRG! <em>


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: Free Fallin' **

"Whoa! These are kick ass." Ed said, strapping on the last of his armor. He looked actually kind of heroic, except his rasta hat got in the way. Ariadne smiled at him, and went back to strapping down her own, and adjusting it. August had already gotten hers on and was sitting on the couch busy studying Helios. It had always felt like hers ever since her father sent it to her in a plain, brown box on her tenth birthday. It was one of those moments in her life that let her know he still cared. But now, she felt like she had to prove herself worthy of it to her dad. He had spoken of Pyrros so highly, like he was still the favorite even after all of these years. She feared she wouldn't be worthy of it she failed. More importantly, she feared she wouldn't be worthy to him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ariadne asked, sitting down next to August on the couch. August looked up and shook her head. "That was more of a statement than a question." Ariadne responded, annoyed but empathetic.

"It's nothing. Just nerves." August said, taking at deep breath. "I don't think I'm good enough to do this."

"Well let's run down the list. One, we've taken on a werewolf in pitch darkness, and won. Two, you bargained with a God and gained his favor. Three you've taken on a fury by yourself, and won. Four, you've tamed a Nemean lion. Five, you've taken on undead knights from the underworld, and won. Six, even though it was kind of stupid, you stood up to Hades and proved your bravery. Even though that may not seem like a whole lot, it is. You've fought more and done more in these past days than most demigods do in years. And now you're chickening out on me?" Ariadne looked like August had just told her she had kicked her puppy; a face August wasn't happy about causing.

"You make me sound way more bad ass than I feel." August responded in a flat tone. She wasn't in the mood to seem genuinely happy about running towards her possible death.

"You're better than you think." Ed remarked, still admiring his armor in the mirror. Suddenly, last night's dream clicked back into August's brain. Apollo said she was his best, and that meant something. She yanked the dark pendant off from around her neck like it was a scorpion or hell spawn and held it up to the light. It was cold and dark, just like everything August feared. It almost disgusted her to look at.

"Congratulations, Ed. You're now the knew wielder of the pendant. Use it wisely." August directed, linking the pendant around his neck. Ed looked terrified.

"What? Why? What the hell makes you think this is a good idea August?" Ed panicked, about to yank the chain off.

"Because I can do this without the pendant, so says my dad." August responded, flipping the small form of Helios in her hand.

"Your dad talked to you last night?" Ed said, still looking rather shocked. "Back up here Augustine." Ed never used August's real name, and she knew he was serious. "Explain to me exactly what happened last night."

"He came and gave me a pep talk essentially. He says I can fight Hyperion without the pendant since I've got heat bending. You're the only one without a form of defense. I have Helios, and Ariadne has her knives and super speed." August explained, but was cut off as Ed was still confused.

"Wait what? Since when are you the Flash?" Ed asked, looking at Ariadne for answers.

"Since a while, but I just now decided to start using it." Ariadne explained. Ed shook his head trying to make sense of it.

"Well… I mean… what if you really do need it?" Ed stammered out, still worried and confused.

"But I won't, Ed. It's yours for the battle. Hades never said that I personally had to use it, he just said I had to succeed in defeating Hyperion." August argued. If her dad said she could do it, she would prove him right.

"If you really think this is a good idea then…" Ed still looked a little worried, but nodded his head and accepted the pendant.

"Alright then, let's get ready to head out." August instructed, trying to put on her best leader face. Something told her that neither of her friends were buying into it.

And there they were again, soaring over the city of LA, headed strait into a battle that seemed incredibly one sided. August tried to keep herself calm by telling herself that everyone from both camps will be right there, ready to battle. However, that didn't help the fact that she would have to go up against Hyperion herself. Though her two cohorts would be close, they could only get so close to him before being cooked.

The flight was silent for an hour as they flew over open water, no one willing to break it. Suddenly, August got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Did either of you feel a sense of dread just wash over you?" August yelled over the wind.

"I smell something off…" Ed commented, looking around for any sign of danger. That bothered August; satyrs had an excellent sense of small for picking out monsters.

"August, do you hear whistling?" Ariadne asked, looking strait forward like she was trying to hear something far off. August was made aware of a whistling in the background; like when a piece of paper gets blown in the wind. August was lighting fast as she grabbed Toli's mane and moved him out of the way as a large griffin tried to dive bomb her. Ariadne followed in suite, another griffin barely missing her by an inch.

"ED MOVE!" Ariadne yelled, but Ed and Ammon were too slow as the biggest of the three griffins slammed into him and Ammon, sending them sprawling and falling towards the large open sea.

"Toli, dive!" August commanded, but Toli was way ahead of her as he flattened his wings against his body and went into freefall mode. August flattened herself against him, trying to break the wind resistance and be faster. They caught up with the plummeting mass of bodies, and August did the most impulsive thing she could. She jumped.

"AUGUST!" Ed yelled, more out of fear for her than for him even though the griffon had it's jaw around his neck, and his claws digging into Ammon. August landed as she had hopped; right on top of the griffon's back, plunging her dagger in. Gold dust exploded like rain around them, but now August was facing a bigger problem; getting airborne again.

"TOLI! Get Ammon upright!" August commanded. They had merely a split second before they collided with the water at terminal speeds, but Anatolios got under Ammon just in time and flipped him and Ed upright. They were airborne again, but August was hanging on to the side of Anatolios. After struggling to get back up, she managed to pull herself back on to him and soar back up to flying level, where Ariadne and Aurora were waiting.

"Nice job, but we're not out of the woods yet. The other two are still trailing us." She pointed behind the trio, and indeed the two other griffons were speeding up to catch them. August thought fast, but Ariadne thought faster.

"Don't follow me." Ariadne said in a direct voice. August had no idea what she was talking about until Ariadne jumped from her mount and landed on the back of the first griffon.

"That's a bad idea, Arry!" Ed yelled form above, trying to catch up with the airborne writhing mass that was Ariadne and the griffon. The creature squawked and hissed, flipping mid air trying to get Ariadne off of its back. She was fast as she slit the throat of the beast, but now Aurora had to be fast to catch the now plummeting Ariadne.

"Go go go go go go." August chanted under her breath as she watched Aurora try to catch her rider. Thankfully, Aurora made it in time as Ariadne landed on her steed ungracefully, but managed to hang on nonetheless.

"Where's the last one?" Ed asked, searching around for the third and final beast. To their surprise, the creature had disappeared.

"Do not let your guards down. It's still around here somewhere." Ariadne instructed, rubbing her side from where she hit Aurora with impact. Aurora didn't seem to pleased either.

"Down there!" August pointed at the creature flying below them. To her surprise, it looked like it was trailing pray. "It looks like it may have spotted… Whoa." August's breath caught as she saw the griffon trailing a large mass in the distance that was giving off steam. She smiled as she realized that Argo II was on its way to Hawaii for the battle. August had never seen anything like the ship before. It was massive and brilliant, and August knew that her friends, or dare she say, family was waiting on that boat for her. The griffon didn't stand a chance against a ship full of angry demigods, but August decided it best to catch up with it anyways.

"We should land on the ship and alert the others of the newest plans!" Ariadne yelled over the wind, but August was way ahead of her as she dove after the griffon. She and Toli flew like lightning as they caught up to the griffon. August drew Helios in her right hand, and slashed strait through the griffon as she sped by to the Argo II.

"Home run." August whispered under her breath as she landed Anatolios on the boat, Ariadne and Ed following shortly after. August took a good look around the ship, and felt like she could take on anything. The only thing left to do at the moment was to alert everyone on board that she had arrived. "Percy! I'm hooome!"

* * *

><p><em>Getting closer and closer towards the climatic battle here. I can guarantee it's gonna be awesome. <em>


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: Bring 'Em Out**

"Took you long enough." A voice from behind August said. She turned around to see Will standing there, in full Greek armor with his arrows and bow strung across his back. He ran up to her and hugged her so hard she was lifted off the ground. "How is the coolest fucking sister in the entire universe?" He asked as he set her down.

"As good as I can be at the moment." August answered, trying to come off as calm, when in reality her nerves had never been more on edge.

"We were wondering if you'd show up at the islands or show up on the boat. Regardless, come down to the strategy room and we'll talk." Will directed the trio down the stairs past campers and artillery rooms into a room fill with wall-to-wall shelves of scrolls, books, and a weapon rack, all with a large table in the middle which Annabeth was heading, Percy by her side. She looked up from her scrolls and gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank the gods you made it ok. Come over here and talk with us about the plans." She directed, motioning them over. August stood opposite Percy and Annabeth, looking at a large detailed map of the Hawaiian islands.

"We were thinking of sending the Romans to the West side and the Greeks to the east, but we honestly have no idea what we're up against, so this could be a great idea or a terrible one." Percy said, shaking his head. They had obviously been trying to figure out the best strategy for several hours by the looks on both of their faces. It had only been as of recent that the two camps started working in tandem, and planning for both proved harder than it looked.

"Look, I may be the leader here, but I'm not the one who's big on battle strategy. I mean I didn't even know that you guys had planned all along to be here for the final battle." August said, unsure of what she should say.

"Well it's not like you can fight Hyperion's army alone." Annabeth said, looking at August like she was crazy.

"But it's not like the Gods said I could have help." August responded, hoping there was a loophole in order to where they could help.

"They only said _you _had to defeat Hyperion. They never said that we couldn't defeat his army." Percy interjected. August breathed a sigh of relief hearing that, but the sigh didn't last long as a large _THUD _sounded through the entire cavern, shaking the whole ship.

"What the underworld…" Ariadne whispered, looking at August for answers. August shrugged and shook her head, just as confused as everyone else. _THUD! _Louder this time. Annabeth wasted no time the second time.

"To the top deck, now!" She instructed, flying out the door, August following behind her with Percy and Ariadne in tow. August raced ahead, exploding out of the top deck only to be greeted by two creatures of unimaginable proportions. They stood about ten feet tall, made of cooled lava with cracks of molten lava still showing through. Their figures looked like Siamese twins of two gladiators in armor standing back to back, their heads joined at the back. Each of the monsters had four arms and four legs, each arm holding a large sword, ready to strike. Their eyes burned like fire.

"What the hell are those?" August asked, genuinely terrified. Gryphons, giants, and hellhounds were one thing, but August had never seen something that had scared her just by looking at it.

"They're called Makhai, they look freshly made." Percy said, appearing next to her with his sword drawn and ready to strike.

"FALL INTO POSITION!" Clarisse screamed from the crows next. Both Romans and Greeks began their charge forward towards the monsters, but August knew this fight wouldn't end well.

"FOR THE DEMIGODS!" August heard a powerful battle cry behind her, and turned to see Jason riding a saddled Newman into battle. A deafening roar coming from Newman's chest signified that the two of them meant business. Just as Jason and everyone else charged, so did the two monsters. Spinning like angry tornadoes of death and destruction, they plowed through shields, cannons, knocked campers aside, and threw plumes of lava across the deck. August thanked the Gods that the ship was forged mostly from steal and metal as opposed to wood. The destruction was awful as demigods Roman and Greek alike attempted to fight back, only to be knocked aside or burned by the spinning tornados of doom.

"August! Get everyone behind me!" Percy yelled to August as she tried to get a decent hit in against the smaller of the Makhai, only to be tossed aside like a bug.

"Everyone fall back!" She yelled, scrambling to get up and direct the group behind her as Percy whipped a large wall of water at both of the demons. It did indeed slow them down, but not as much as anyone had hoped. The monsters' cooled and cracked, only to have their lava reheat and make the Makhai that much angrier.

"Oh damn, oh damn, oh damn, holy fucking shit man!" A Greek Hermes camper whimpered, his leg badly burned as he limped away from the Makhai. August felt like time had slowed down around her as she watched the scene unfold around her. Clarisse and Reyna called the troops forward, only to have them tossed aside and slammed around; Annabeth had abandoned her usual blade in favor of a lance, spearing the larger Makhai through the shoulder, only to have it pull the lance out and flick it aside; Percy summoning a miniature storm to try and quell the lava, with little success; Leo and Frank both operating cannons attempting to knock the smaller Makhai of kilter, only to have it absorb the canon balls. If there was ever a disastrous battle to have happen within the camps, this was it.

"Annabeth! Annabeth I have a question!" August yelled to her mentor, trying to figure out something, anything out to help her friends.

"I'm a little busy, August!" Annabeth yelled, picking up another lance.

"I just need to know more about these guys!" August yelled back, not taking no for an answer.

"They're sons of Eris, forged from her womb and with the fire of battle! They're essentially mindless killing machines!" Annabeth explained, jumping out of the way of a large plume of lava.

"So how do you kill one?" August asked, hoping for some more advice.

"If I knew, they'd both be dead by now!" Annabeth yelled back, charging back into the rush and out of site. August was about to charge back in herself, but was quickly slammed to the ground by and unseen force as the larger demon jumped over her and into the rush. August realized that what had hit her was Ariadne.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let you get hit." She explained, helping August up and bracing for battle.

"You're getting better." August mentioned, having not even seen Ariadne before she ended up on the ground with her.

"I've figured out that it's not about control it, but about letting it be. Instead of trying to turn it on and off, I just have to feel it." Ariadne explained, catching her breath. "Those Makhai are hot to the core. If there was a way to put out the fire, we could probably destroy them." Ariadne mentioned, about to charge back in. August grabbed her arm before she could.

"Say that one more time. You said they were hot to the core?" August asked, making sure she heard correctly.

"Well yeah. They keep heating back up because Percy's water isn't penetrating deep enough." Ariadne said like it was obvious.

"Go get Leo and the rest of Hephaestus's and Vulcan's cabins to unchain the cannons and brace them against the sides of the ship in the front. I'm going to try and move the bigger Makhai into place, and when I do, get Ares' and Mars' cabins to help secure the chains on both halves. If we can split them apart and get them to the core, we can get Percy to take water from the deepest part of the ocean and freeze the inside." August explained bracing herself to charge in.

"That's brilliant but dangerous as hell, August." Ariadne said, giving August a wary look.

"We don't have a lot of options here." August said, charging in. She made it to the front of the boat, where the bigger of the two Makhai was making short work of a group of Mars' campers' shields. "Don't worry about them, it's me you want!" August yelled, trying her hardest not to give into her fear and bolt like a coward. The monster turned one of its faces towards August, and gave a menacing smile.

"_Actually, I've been given orders to kill the son of Poseidon and the son of Jupiter as well, but you're the first on my list." _The demon hissed in Greek. _"So, how shall we do this then?"_ It asked, lumbering towards August all four arms poised and ready to strike. _"We can either slice you to bits and return you to your mother in pieces, or we can cook you alive and send you back as a human barbeque." _The brute taunted. August's eyes darted left and right, seeing both sides of Hephaestus's cabin reading the chains, with Ares' campers waiting in the wings for the signal.

"How about neither." August concluded, charging towards the Makhai and dodging left, getting the beast to have both his face facing opposite directions of the ship.

_"Charming how you think this is a game." _The demon hissed. August had managed to ricochet off the ships railing and deliver a swift kick to the temple of the monster, sending him staggering, and giving just enough time for the War God's cabins to react and ambush the monster. The Makhai fought back, throwing off campers left and right, but not before they managed to chain the two arms on both sides.

"NOW!" August heard Leo's voice yell to both cabins on either side of the ship, who had wrapped the chains around the two thickest masts, and were now pulling on either side.

"What on earth?" August then heard Percy's voice from behind her as he staggered in from the back of the ship, when both Athena's cabins and Apollo's cabins were attempting to fight the smaller Makhai.

"Percy! Just the man I wanted to see! How deep is it right where we are?" August asked, watching the campers begin to pull the Makhai apart.

"In my terms, several thousand leagues. In your terms, deep enough to shrink your head. Why?"

"As soon as these guys finish tearing the Makhai open, I need to you send the coldest water you can directly at it's core." August explained, watching the demon right against it's restraints, but to little success.

"Got it!" Percy responded, standing in front of August and powering up.

"_YOU…CANNOT… WIN…" _The Makhai growled, but was quickly cut short as the two cabins managed to tear it down the middle.

"_Oh yes we can!" _Percy responded back in Greek, sending a huge plume of freezing water directly to the center of the demon. As the water subsided, all that was left was a smoldering pile of cooled lava, cracking and solidifying before everyone's eyes.

"Well that worked beautifully!" Leo said, standing on top of the mass, proudly.

"We're not out of the woods yet." Percy reminded them, though it wasn't needed as the second Makhai barreled towards the group in a fit of sheer rage.

_"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY BROTHER!" _It roared, slicing a large gash down the center of the ship. August stood shaking in fear as it spun towards her. This feeling was new. Usually, she'd be charging this thing like she was invincible, but instead she could barely move. She didn't understand what was wrong. Her fiery fighting instincts hadn't kicked in at all during this battle, and in fact had given way to shear terror. It was all she could do to put up any fight at all, and her nerves and stamina were failing fast.

_This is it. _August thought as she prepared to fight. _This is how I die. _That thought alone made her angry. She had come all this way, fought through monsters, tested her strengths, made new friends, found a new family, found love, and almost claimed her rightful place as an Olympian hero, all to have it crash down on her because of one monster. "Well shit, might as well go down fighting." She growled, angry that this is how it ended. And there it was; the spark that set the flame. Instantly, she felt like she could take on a hoard of any monster. She charged at the creature, consequences be damned. Just as soon as she was about to collide, a voice in her head stopped her.

"MASTER! HANG ON!" Suddenly, a golden blur smashed into the Makhai, sending him sprawling.

"Newman! Could not have had better timing, buddy!" August exclaimed as Newman took his place beside her, ready to fight. The Makhai quickly regrouped, only to have both August and Newman charging at him, keeping both of his sides busy.

"DUCK!" August heard the sound from the rafters, and was quick to do so as a large ship mast came plowing down onto the Makhai, sending him into the water.

"PERCY, PULL HIM UNDER!" The voice yelled, and a quick tug of a hat reveled Annabeth up in the rafters. Percy nodded, and with one swift movement, the Makhai was gone.

"What were you thinking?" Annabeth asked, jumping from her perch and landing in front of August.

"That I was going to die, so I better make it count." She responded, catching her breath.

"That was stupid." Annabeth said, nodding. "But, you truly are brave."

"Thanks, but no time for patting each other on the back just yet." August said, looking around at the wounded campers that littered the golden bronze deck. "I think we have some clean up to do."

* * *

><p><em>I know you all have been wondering where I've been. Well let me tell you, these past few weeks have NOT been pretty. So first off, my computer decided to strait up commit suicide and fry its hard drive to death for no apparent reason. So after spending some of my college fund on a new computer, external hard drive, and a trip to Data Savers to get my data back, I learned to back up all of my files at ALL TIMES. And you all should do the same. So, that being said, that's why I've been so late with this chapter. I'm nearing the end of school too, so chapters will now only be a weekly thing until around May 20th. Sorry, but mamma needs to work hard for the diploma. <em>


	35. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34:** **Down With the Sickness**

_Don't throw up. _August thought to herself as she helped her cabin tend to the wounds of fallen warriors in the ships medical room. _No seriously. DO NOT THROW UP. _Will had warned her that tending to the wounded was not something you automatically get used to, even if your father is the king of healers. Injuries are mind scaring for first timers is what she had been told, and August didn't deny it.

"August, why don't you sit down? I can take it from here." Sandy said, patting August on the shoulder as she finished up sewing together another wound. August looked at her hands that were sticky with blood and nectar and instantly felt sicker.

"Yeah… ok that's… not a bad idea." August stammered out, trying to keep the contents of her stomach down. As she stumbled to the sink to wash off, the smell of the lower deck started to get to her. With the motion of the boat not exactly helping either, she decided to walk up to the top deck for some fresh air. To her relief, only a few scattered campers were cleaning up the destruction of the fight, but most were under the deck making battle preparations. If she was going to be sick, she didn't want everyone watching. August leaned on the side of the railing, inhaling deeply through her nose and out through her mouth.

"Olive?" A familiar voice from behind her asked. August turned around to see Ariadne standing with a jar of olives, offering one to her.

"No thanks, I'm trying to keep myself from being sick right now." August responded, turning back towards the sea.

"Yeah I know, olives help. I wouldn't be eating them if I weren't trying to do the same." Ariadne said, leaning against the railing next to August.

"They do? Why?" She asked, taking and olive.

"Because they dry your mouth from the excess saliva that your body produces to protect your teeth from stomach acid, thus tricking your body into thinking you're not going to be sick." Ariadne explained, chewing another one.

"That makes sense I guess." August said, still looking out onto the horizon. It bothered her that it was absolutely gorgeous out. Normally during movies about the end of the world, the clouds engulfed the sky in a thick haze of doom, and the ocean was murky and forbidding. However, this was not the movies.

They stood in silence for a few minutes before August turned back towards Ariadne, giving her a pensive look. "Have you told anyone?"

"Anyone what?" Ariadne asked, giving August a confused look in return.

August gave a good look around to make sure no one was listening. "You know… us?" August said.

"Oh… no, I haven't. Haven't found a good time to." Ariadne responded, looking back out to the sea as well turning pink and avoiding eye contact. "We're pretty close by the way."

"To the islands?" August asked, making sure they had changed the subject and she wasn't being oblivious to Ariadne's hints again.

"Yeah. Percy says maybe another hour at most." Ariadne said.

August stomach turned over hearing that, her nerves having a collective heart attack. This was happening. This was real. The past several weeks had gone by in a hazy blur of surrealism, the only thing signaling reality being the fact that she hadn't woken up in her bed at home, panting and in a cold sweat, having the whole thing be just a bad dream. Every moment that had happened in the past three weeks, every bit of training, every monster fought, power discovered, god met, everything culminated to this moment, and August was still no where near prepared for it. "Oh lord…" She mumbled as leaned over the side and prepared to be violently ill.

"Breathe in deeply, August." Ariadne said as she rubbed her neck. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make it worse."

"It's not your fault." August managed to stammer out while trying to maintain control of her breakfast. Thankfully she won the battle with her stomach, breathing slowly and deeply so as to not disturb it again. "God, I wish I knew how to control that fearless instinct thing. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so sick."

"I don't think that's a fearless instinct, August." Ariadne responded, still rubbing August's neck and shoulders. August took a breath before responding.

"What do you mean?" She asked, not really sure what Ariadne was getting at.

"I honestly just think you have a bad temper." Ariadne said with a slight chuckle.

"That's a pretty bad temper." August grumbled, still trying to keep her breakfast and heart rate down.

"Devine emotions don't work the same way mortal tempers do. Have you seen Ares mad before?" Ariadne asked. August shook her head. "With gods it's different. There's an old theory that states that the gods feel more basic emotions than the complex human emotions, which is why they live longer."

August looked up at Ariadne, fascinated. "How does that work?"

"Well they say that humans don't live as long because we feel our emotions more complex and deeply than the gods do, and therefore burn up our internal fires more quickly and brightly than the gods." Ariadne explained, using hand gestures that made it seem like the internal fire thing was completely obvious.

August gave a blank stare before responding. "Yeah ok… none of what you just said made any sense to me."

Ariadne nodded, looking down at the deck and thinking of a way to explain. "The theory is that a soul is essentially a kind of fire that burns within each living thing. When the fire burns out, the person dies. Now the fire can burn out for a number of reasons, like being seriously injured, or killed. However, if you live a normal, long life, you die because your fire is used up. Intense emotions use more of the fire than regular, basic emotions."

August bit her lip, trying to make sense of it. "So then… like… ok so we burn quicker because we feel… more?"

Again, Ariadne nodded. "Kind of. You know how you can feel happy and sad at the same time? Like when you finish a really good book or when you're saying goodbye to a friend you haven't seen in a while?" Ariadne asked. August nodded. "Well the gods apparently don't have that same capacity. When they're mad, they're mad. Happy is happy, sad is sad, fear is fear. Love is really the only emotion that differs from each god."

"So do their kids have emotions like that? I mean I can be happy and sad at the same time, scared and in love, or a combination of weird emotions." August asked, confused.

"They're kids may get one or two emotions like the gods. Take Nico for instance. He can hold a grudge all his life and never let it go, and yet he can be a really nice and caring guy at the same time. It's just his father's anger that he inherited. Or like Piper, who didn't inherit her mother's love of love, but inherited her mother's passion. And Jason, who inherited his father's protective instincts, or Annabeth who got Athena's calm demeanor during battle." Ariadne explained.

"What did you inherit?" August asked.

"Honestly? I actually think I ended up with her chagrin." Ariadne sad, looking displeased with that fact as her hands gripped the railing with force. "I can't tell you how just fucking awful I feel after I fail at doing something or get embarrassed. It… destroys me."

"But you're not overly prideful." August said.

"No, I'm not. Which is good, but I got the opposite side. I'm fine with the adequate results. I'm not fine with bad results." Ariadne said. She shook her head to calm down, and looked back at August. "Your dad doesn't really have a bad temper, but when he does, he can get pretty malicious."

August knew that didn't add up. "But the only time he has a bad temper though is when he's protecting his family. I mean, he killed Orion not because of jealousy, but because he felt as though he would hurt his sister." August said. "That's really the only time I get really angry is when I'm trying to protect my friends and family." August suddenly looked up and at Ariadne, having figured something out. "That's it! My dad's protective instincts! It's not really a bad temper, it's just the need to protect!" August said, looking back at Ariadne with a large smile.

Ariadne nodded in response. "Well you're right, that does make more sense than a bad temper."

"How come none of my other siblings act this way?" August asked, unsure as to why Will or Kayla never acted like she did.

Ariadne looked around, making sure that they were alone before answering. The deck had pretty much cleared, save for Newman sleeping and a lone Aphrodite camper in the crow's nest. "Because your siblings are slightly more self absorbed than you. They're not heroes because, just like Apollo when the Titans came to Olympus, they get out when the going gets too rough. But, just like a coin, there are two sides to every God. You're a good hero because you're a natural defender, like Apollo's good half."

"But I never would have become a hero if your mother and my father didn't tell me I had to be." August responded.

"No, they shoved you in the right direction, but you did everything else yourself. No one gave you direction on what to do and how to do it; they just said you had to. Knowing someone like your brother Paul, he would have let me do all the work and stood back. You didn't, and that's what makes you a true hero." Ariadne explained.

"I guess so." August said, smiling slightly.  
>"August?" Ariadne asked, moving closer. August turned and looked at her. "Are you feeling better?"<p>

"For the most part, yeah." August said, nodding and taking Ariadne's hand in hers. The juxtaposition of August's tanned, freckled, and rough hand intertwined with Ariadne's pale, smooth, and almost flawless hand mirrored their relationship in its entirety.

August looked out farther unto the horizon, the dark greenish blue water reminding her of Percy's eyes. The water was calm and the skies clear, allowing for her to see farther out onto the horizon, save for a thick layer of some form of foggish smoke covering the far horizon, obstructing her view. In the misty haze, however, a mass immerged. "I think I see the island."

"I think you may be right." Ariadne responded, nodding in agreement. She unhooked her fingers from August's and shielded her eyes from the sun, attempting to get a better view. "There's just one thing that concerns me though."

"What's that?" August asked.

"Why is there such a thick layer of fog when it's two in the afternoon?"

August looked back out at the island, and realized that fog wouldn't be prevalent at such a time. On the coast, fog cleared up on the ocean by noon at the latest. "That's a really good question that I don't have any idea how to answer." Then, a familiar and yet odd smell hit August's nose.

Ariadne caught the scent at the same time, apparently. "Do you smell that?" Ariadne asked, looking even more confused.

August inhaled deeply. "Yeah that's… that's smoke."

"Smoke? So far out to sea?" Ariadne looked like something very bad was happening. "We're still a good forty minutes away from docking at yet there's smoke this far out. That shouldn't happen."

"Should we go tell Annabeth and Percy?" August asked. Ariadne nodded in response, and the two made their way back down the steps to the planning room.

"Annabeth, there is a very thick layer of smoke outside, and we're not near enough to the island for that to be happening." August explained as she burst through the doors.

Annabeth looked up from her scrolls, concerned. "Smoke? This far out? Well that doesn't make sense…" Annabeth trailed off in thought, but shook her head when she couldn't think of any answer. "Have you told Percy and Jason this?"

"No, not yet." Ariadne answered.

"Go do that real quick and come back. August, you stay here." Annabeth instructed. Ariadne nodded and ran out the door. Annabeth turned towards August and nodded her head as if to have made up her mind about something. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Really? Why?" August asked, worried that she may have done something wrong.

Annabeth gave a half smile. "I mean this in the best when possible when I say that I have no idea why they picked you for this quest." Annabeth said as she sat back down in her chair and studied August carefully. After a few seconds of silence, she shook her head and gave a halfhearted chuckle. "You are honestly the last person I'd expect for the Gods to pick as a hero."

"Hang on, why?" August asked, a little hurt by the statement. She hadn't taken Annabeth as someone so outwardly judgmental.

"Because you're so nice." Annabeth answered with a sincere tone.

"Percy's nice." August answered back, taking a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the table.

"Percy doesn't try and save the bugs inside his cabin by taking them outside." Annabeth retaliated. "What I'm saying, August, is that you're so dogged gone nice. You're helpful, friendly, compassionate, and your related to some of the greatest hippies known to man. Not to mention you take after many of those hippies."

"So you're saying that I don't look like the battle type." August concluded.

"Exactly. Percy's nice until it's time to put on his game face." Annabeth explained. "I don't know how you do it. If I were you, I'd be crying half the time."

"Sometimes I feel like it." August grumbled, stroking her hair back. She looked up at Annabeth, who seemed so cool and collected even though they were about to jump into battle, and here she was shaking in her chair at the mere thought of having to fight anything. "Ariadne and I had a conversation a few minutes ago about godly emotions." August said, remembering what Ariadne had told her. "She said that gods feel emotions differently than humans, like they're more basic and strait forward. They don't bleed together like human emotions."

Annabeth nodded and gave August and interested look. "Yes, that is true, go on."

August continued. "Like Nico got his father's anger and Will got my dad's nurturing side. Well I think I got something like that."

"You do?" Annabeth said as she cocked an eyebrow. "Which part?"

"I got my dad's protective side. I'm only a good fighter when my friends are in trouble." August explained.

"Oh, so that's it then." Annabeth said, looking like everything made sense. "Apollo has always been a protective father, and over protective of his sister too."

"I have a question." August said, something still bothering her since she had been put on the quest. "Why would the gods need another hero?" August asked, slumping back into her chair.

"Heroes change out quite often actually." Annabeth answered back. "Just because Heracles had a long run, doesn't mean that many other heroes did. Most of them got one huge quest each that landed them in fame. Percy, Jason, and Heracles are really the only heroes I know of to have had such a long run."

"What about the original Perseus and Lason?" August asked.

Ariadne walked back into the room just in time to answer. "Did about one big quest each that just seemed to last a very long time."

"Huh. So am I a replacement?" August didn't like the idea that she would have to replace anyone of her friends as a hero.

"Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't seem like Percy or Jason are calling it quits any time soon." Annabeth said with a shrug. "But they might slow down next summer after they graduate."

"Hmmm…" Ariadne took the chair next to August, thinking something over. "This is one hell of a test they're putting you through though."

"Yes, this does seem rather… large." Annabeth agreed, studying August over. "I don't know what they have planned for you, but I can tell it's something big that we're missing."

"Hoo boy…" August shook her head in exasperation. "Did not plan for my summer to be like this."

"Anna! Annabeth come quickly!" Percy's voice sounded through the hallway and into the planning room. "You two also! We're about to dock, and things don't look pretty!"

* * *

><p><em>Sorry, I lied. THIS is the last talky-type chapter. I honestly tried to merge it with the next chapter, but it got too long and I decided to separate the two.<br>Also, fun facts about this chapter:  
>*the olive thing actually works<em>  
>*<em>Lason is the correct spelling for the original Jason<br>__*The internal fire and emotion things are all real Greek mythology theories  
>*For those wondering where Ed is, he's probably down in the ships kitchen, eating a salad<em>


	36. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: Now or Never**

August didn't waste time getting off the big ship and into the rowboats that were moving towards the island. The island looked much more like a scene from Jurassic Park than a Hawaiian island with its lush landscape butting up against the shores of the beach. August had been to Hawaii before, but only to hotels and tourist beaches. It surprised her that there were parts of it that were so unkempt.

"Where are we?" August asked out loud as the self-propelling rowboat that Percy, Ariadne, Ed, and herself were all seated in as they made their way to shore.

"The back part of the big island that can't be renovated because of the active volcanoes." Percy answered.

"Why do I get the feeling there are dinosaurs here?" Ed grumbled, looking like he may pass out. August didn't blame him; fighting in a jungle was much more daunting than fighting in a canyon or a cave. At least in those settings, there are less places for monsters to hide.

As soon as they hit land, a low but audible growl greeted August's ears. "No one move." She instructed as she turned towards the direction of the noise. To her surprise, there was nothing.

"There's something out there." Ed whispered, looking over August's shoulder in the direction of the growl. August and her team jumped out of the boat, keeping low as to not startle anything. Just as they were about to approach the lush tree scape, they heard a voice. A human voice.

"Help… me. Please! Please… help." The voice begged as the cracking of branches and shuffling of dirt came closer. As soon as August braced for battle, a young woman, only a few years older looking than Annabeth or Percy came stumbling out looking very worn, like she had been running from something.

"Oh my lord what happened? Let us help you!" August asked as she rushed over towards the girl, just as the she collapsed into August's arms.

"Big… wild cat… attacked my camp site… I don't know where the others are." She croaked out breathlessly. August laid the woman down on the beach, kneeling over her. She moved the girl's chocolate brown hair from her dirt streaked forehead a checked for serious wounds.

"Anything serious?" Ariadne asked as she watched August work.

"Doesn't look like it. She's just exhausted." August responded without looking up. Even so, August wasn't about to just leave the woman. That wouldn't be right.

"Leave her for now. The other boats will be landing soon, and we've got to get to the main volcano asap." Percy instructed as the other rowboats started to dock.

"I can't just… I mean she needs help!" August argued, disgusted that Percy Jackson, hero of all heroes, would even suggest such a thing.

"August, the monsters won't come for her now that we're here." Ed explained, motioning for August to follow.

Just then, Annabeth's boat holding Piper and Leo docked next to Percy's. "Ok let's move to attack plan alpha. If we move quickly we can… what happened to her?" Annabeth asked as she was cut short by the scene of August trying to keep the woman conscious.

"Big cat…" The woman croaked out again.

"Apparently her camp was attacked by a large wild cat of some sort. I don't want to just leave her out here in the middle of an attack but… I mean… what can we do?" August felt so conflicted. This woman needed help, and yet they were in the middle of a war that she was a major part of.

"It's ok to leave her, August. She'll be fine, you said so yourself. She'll sleep it off and walk back to civilization." Ariadne comforted as she tried to get August to leave the woman and follow the group.

"I can't! I don't know why but I have to know that she's going to be ok!" August argued, almost in frustrated tears.

"Oh gods no, now is not the time for this to surface!" Annabeth whined as she looked at August with genuine fear in her eyes.

"For what to surface?" August snapped, angry that no one cared about the woman's obviously unstable condition.

"You're fatal flaw!" Annabeth said directly. August shook her head in disbelief. "Yes it is, I can see it in your eyes. This is a test, I just know it." Annabeth growled in frustration.

"Fatal flaw?" August looked between Percy and the rest of the group that had landed for an answer.

"It's the thing that everyone has that weakens them." Piper explained.

"Yeah, that's right." Percy nodded. "It's the one flaw that will get in the way of your tasks at hand no matter what."

"So wait a second. I have a flaw that's going to get in the way of getting things done? Then why did they pick me to lead quest?" August asked, angry and now scared.

"August, it's not just you. We all have them." Annabeth said. "I have a deep hubris."

"I'm too loyal. I'd risk my life for anybody." Percy said stepping up.

"I have issues with feeling like I don't contribute." Leo mentioned.

"They make us human, August. Without them, we'd surpass the Gods." Ariadne explained, nodding August to follow. "Leave her and let's… uh… oh shit." She trailed off, backing away slowly from August.

"That's really not good." Annabeth whispered, unsheathing her knife.

August turned around to where she had left the woman, who's bones were convulsing and shifting unnaturally. It almost seemed like she was getting bigger. Yes, she definitely was getting bigger, and hairier. "What is that?" August asked, now certain that this day couldn't get any weirder.

"Everyone get ready!" Percy instructed as he uncapped Riptide. Piper and Leo brandished their weapons of choice as August and Ariadne followed in suit. August didn't even see Ed anymore as they got ready to fight, but didn't blame him for taking off. The woman was certainly not a woman anymore as her body swelled in size to form something about the size of a hummer, her body shooting out gold fur in every direction as her hair made up a gnarly looking mane.

"It's a full grown Nemean lion, August! The original lore states that they could change in woman to draw in heroes so they could then slay them." Ariadne explained with a shaky voice.

And there it stood in its full form; a huge, snarling, drooling golden lion with piercing red eyes. The claws on its paws were about as long and as sharp as Helios, the teeth in its maw giving Annabeth's knife a run for its money. This was no Newman. And then it lunged.

"DUCK!" August yelled as the beast flew through the air towards the group. Leo narrowly avoided the attack as the beast came crashing down onto the sand, sending a plume of it into the air. A deafening roar sounded through the trees as the lion prepared to charge again. August wasted no time charging directly at it this time.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Ariadne yelled as August ran full force at the monster. Maybe she was, but she wasn't about to let this creature get the best of her. She ducked, slashed, jumped, flipped, and kicked in a violent ballet of moves, trying anything to get a hit.

"Oh no, there's more!" Annabeth called out as August looked over her shoulder to see boats of campers docking and griffons, furies, and an angry looking sphinx all charging out of the forest.

"Don't let them push you towards the water!" A voice yelled out from a docking boat. "If they do, they have us cornered." Jason made his way through the carnage towards a group of hellhounds.

"Leave the hellhounds to Nico and I. We know them best and may be able to subdue them!" Hazel called out as she ducked just as a griffon came pouncing overhead.

"Agreed!" Nico seconded, drawing his ebony blade. August didn't even think he'd show up, but was happy he did.

"Back up! I'm shifting!" Frank called out as he jumped off ship.

The battle had officially started. The scene was surreal as more demigods poured out from the boats, and more monsters from the forest. Newman and Ms. O'Leary had joined it, causing a stir with their evil counterparts. Jason looked more like a moving lightning bolt with electricity crackling around him; Percy had a miniature storm raging around him; Frank had morphed into a large elephant and was flipping monsters left and right; Annabeth and Ariadne had teamed up against a group of furies, taking them down left and right like a whirlwind of knives; and the carnage continued as both sides provided more fighters.

"FIRE!" Will's voice shouted from the sidelines as both sides of Apollonites let loose a slew of arrows onto the oncoming barrage of monsters cascading down the lush hill. As the arrows hit, a shower of gold dust avalanched down the mountainside as the surviving monsters charged through it.

There were so many monsters that August was glad that most of them, if you hit them correctly, were one hit kills. She sliced through another hellhound just as a low, rumbling, evil laugh sounded through the battle.

"The gods?" She mumbled to herself as something bright and big caught her eye on top of the mountain. Not the mountain, the volcano. The volcano, which was now erupting violently. The air became hazy as the mountain threw plumes of ash and hot steam into the air, lava oozing out like an open wound. August knew it was Hyperion saying 'come at me bra.' It was now or never.

She turned over her shoulder to see Ed, back from wherever he was hiding, charming several large python like serpents with his reeds, and Ariadne whipping around through sets of monster like they were nothing. As soon as two more griffons fell to her knives, Ariadne stopped to take a breath.

"Arry, I'm going in!" August called over the chaos.

"You are? Now? Alone?" Ariadne asked, panic taking over her face.

"Yes, yes, and yes." August answered, preparing her speedy trek up the mountain.

"Is it time?" Ed asked, now next to August.

"Yep, now or never." She answered, nodding bravely.

Suddenly, Ariadne barreled into her, almost knocking her off balance. "Please come back safe!" Ariadne begged as she grabbed August by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"I promise I will try." August said sincerely. Ariadne pulled her in for a goodbye kiss.

As she broke away, she went stern. "No, not try. You will." Ariadne demanded, looking August dead in the eyes, letting her know she was serious.

"I should've seen that coming." A voice from nowhere said. It became clear that it belonged to Annabeth as she took her hat off, melding back into existence.

"That obvious huh?" August asked.

"Extremely." Annabeth nodded her head with a smile. She went serious again as she caught site of the volcano. "If you're headed in, I want you to remember something very important. Do not, under any circumstances, negotiate with Hyperion. Titans aren't like Gods. They never stick to their words in their entirety."

"Right, got it." August nodded in understanding. The volcano boomed in the background, almost signaling her to hurry up. August took a deep breath before preparing her trek. "Well, wish me luck."

* * *

><p><em>And now ladies and gentlemen, we start the beginning of the end. <em>


	37. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36: Danger Zone**

The trek up the mountain, even to someone as in such good physical condition as August, took a good two hours to complete. The battle didn't let up in the slightest as August looked down upon the rush of bodies below her on the way up, and she could only hope that everything was going ok. She should have been exhausted by the time she reached the top, but her adrenaline made her feel otherwise.

The top of the mountain was a hot, bubbling caldera, and though it had stopped spewing ash and lava in the air, it was still hot and menacing. August thanked Hephaestus for the armor, as she knew even she would be cooked alive if she were to have gone in without it.

"You called?" She yelled at the crater, hoping to settle the score early. As she watched for any signs of life, the ooze started bubbling and shifting, a large form shaping out of it. By the time it was done forming, a very large, muscular man covered in yellow flames sat upon a throne of volcanic glass, looking at August condescendingly. He sat at about ten feet high, though August expected that he could be any size he wanted depending on his mood. This was Hyperion. This was her challenger.

"I expected a hero and they send me this?" He scoffed, sizing August up and down like a piece of meat.

"Don't be too hasty to judge me. It could be the last thing you ever do." August answered, taking a step forward.

Hyperion gave an annoyed laugh. "You plan to kill me?"

"I plan to put you back where you belong!" August yelled, preparing to jump into battle. Before she could, Hyperion flicked his wrist, sending up a wall of lava that blocked her path.

"Not so fast, half-blood. I have a bargain I'd like to make with you." Hyperion said surprisingly calmly.

"I don't make bargains with Titans." August growled back.

Once again, Hyperion laughed. "I didn't give you that option." The wall of lava settled back down before he continued. "I don't feel like fighting you, half-blood, namely because you're an easy kill, as are all of your friends. It's boring and pointless with little reward for me. So instead of that, I have an option for you to where we can just avoid this whole thing. I go away, like you want me to, you and your camps go home alive, and we all live happily ever after."

"I'm not taking any options of yours, no matter what." August finalized.

The lava around the two of them bubbled angrily. "Then I send several hundred tons of lava down to your little army, desecrating everyone and everything."

"You really think you stand a chance against two whole armies of angry demigods?" August asked, thinking Hyperion crazy.

"Yes, yes I do. You see your people were trained to fight warriors and monsters. They weren't trained to fight a natural substance that burns literally everything in its path. Certainly not tons of it. Even with that nuisance of a son Poseidon had, you still don't stand a chance." Hyperion explained, the lava still bubbling around August like its own living thing. August remained silent, not sure how to react. "Here are your options. One, I send this caldera down upon your camps faster than you can prepare for it, destroying everything, afterwards I take the sun as my own and reclaim my rightful place in Olympus. Or, two, you bring me a maiden of my own."

"A maiden? Like a girl?" August asked, unsure why he couldn't just go send one of his minions to find a girl for him.

Hyperion let out another annoyed chuckle before continuing. "I don't want just any maiden, Augustine." Her name came out like a curse word more than a name. He leaned forward in his thrown, looking at her evilly. "The one I want is young, graceful, and pure. You don't find maidens like her just anywhere." He mused.

"Why not get her yourself if it matters that much? I'm not going to bring anyone to you just so you can break them." August said, annoyed.

"Oh my dear Augustine. You don't understand do you?" Hyperion asked. Once again, August remained silent. "The maiden I want isn't so simple to just get a hold of. Because, you see Augustine, the maiden I want happens to already belong to someone." He laughed again, giving August a look between amusement and shear disdain. "Well, not just someone. The maiden I want happens to belong to _you._"

August's heart stopped, her head reeling. _No. Not Ariadne. Not her. Anyone but her. _August pleaded silently to any God that would listen. She tried to remain stoic as to not show Hyperion just how much what he just said bothered her. "You don't want her." August whispered. "There are thousands of other maidens out there that are just as good if not better, you don't want her."

Hyperion gave his signature chuckle. "Oh yes I do. And you, Augustine of Apollo, are going to bring her to me." The caldera bubbled menacingly, letting August know that she was running out of time and options.

August felt too many things at once to keep calm. First, there was anger; how dare he threaten the well being of her friends, no, _family_ to her face. Then, there was fear. He wasn't wrong, as lava was not exactly something that you could fight off like a giant or a griffon. Her camps wouldn't be able to get off the island fast enough if he decided to send the lava down. Then, her protective instincts. The maiden he wanted was none other than the girl who had shown her nothing but patience, kindness, acceptance, and love for the past several weeks, and Hyperion was not about to take her away for his own sick gain. The emotions built up into a dangerous Molotov cocktail inside of her, which finally hit in the pit of her stomach and exploded into the final emotions that over took everything; rage.

Extending Helios and charging up her heat, August responded the only way she knew how. "I'll take the third option." She pointed the dagger right at Hyperion. "Kill you." She charged across the lava, and to her surprise, it cooled where she was running. She realized that she was absorbing the heat around her for power, taking the heat from the lava to fuel her own. As she reached Hyperion, she realized that his own flames were also fading the closer she got, and he looked rather surprised about it.

She jumped, higher than she had ever thought she could, and swung directly at his face. Though he moved just before the collision, she still managed to get him right in the eye.

"GAH!" The titan let out a scream right as his reflexes kicked in and smacked August away from him with tremendous force. Enough force to knock her strait off the mountain. As she free fell down to the earth, something caught her right before she hit the rocky side.

"What the- Toli?" August looked down to see the magnificent Pegasus looking back at her while she hung on to his back for dear life. She resituated, looking below her to see that the camps had run out of monsters to fight, but weren't in great shape. "Land where the others are!" August instructed, Toli banking and diving in as told. As she landed, Percy was standing on a rock looking around as the rest of the camps tended to injured soldiers, supplies, war animals, and weapons. He jumped down and ran towards her upon seeing August land.

"Oh thank the gods you made it!" He said as he met her as she dismounted. "I sent Anatolios in for you. You never know what could happen when you're fighting on the side of a mountain."

"Thanks, that was smart. Hyperion literally threw me off the mountain." August grumbled, out of breath. "I need to speak to Ariadne."

"She's over there with Annabeth." Percy pointed to a group of Athenians, both Roman and Greek, standing over an outstretched map of the island. Ariadne was standing behind Annabeth, deep in thought. "Is something wrong?" Percy asked.

"Very. Are there any more monsters coming?" August asked back.

"Probably. They're probably regrouping right now as we speak, just like we are. What's going on?" He responded.

"I'm caught between a rock and a hard place." August said, walking over towards the group. As she approached, Ariadne caught site of her and ran over.

"What happened? Are you ok?" She asked, looking worried as usual.

"Er… something came up." August said, unsure of how to bring up her current predicament.

"Are you feeling ok? You're burning up." Ariadne asked, almost ignoring August's question as she felt her forehead.

"Don't worry about that now, let's just go somewhere we can talk." August said, gesturing down the beach. Ariadne nodded and followed her. They walked in silence until they were out of earshot.

"August, you look like you've been sentenced to death." Ariadne finally said once August took a seat on some rocks on the shore. Ariadne sat down next to her.

"I need you to get off the island." August said directly.

"What?" Ariadne looked shocked at what she just heard. "August what's going on?"

"Hyperion did what Annabeth said he'd do, and tried to make a bargain with me." August started.

"Then don't take the options." Ariadne said cutting her off.

"He didn't give me that as an option." August responded, frustrated.

"What do you mean?" Ariadne asked, now looking scared.

"He's literally sitting on hundreds of tons of lava in this huge caldera on top of that mountain, and he threatened to send all of it down faster than we can get off the island if I don't…" August trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

"If you don't what?" Ariadne asked, trying to get the answers out of August before she broke down.

"He asked for a maiden." August shot out.

"That's disgusting." Ariadne said in a deadpan manner. "But not unusual. Why can't he get his minions to do it?"

"He asked for you." August finished, a few stray tears slipping down her face. Ariadne's expression went pale and mortified.

"You couldn't have possibly said yes." Ariadne whispered after several seconds of silence, looking like she may faint.

"Of course I didn't! I would never do anything like that to you ever. I love you!" August said, taking Ariadne's hand in hers. "But the second he sees us trying to move ourselves off the island, we're all literally toast."

Ariadne nodded and sat in silence for a few more seconds, thinking. "What if we played along?" She asked, looking at August with a thoughtful expression.

"That's too dangerous. I'm not putting you in that position." August answered, shaking her head.

"If we did it right, we could win." Ariadne persuaded.

"Unless you've got a fool proof plan, I refuse to let you do this." August said, not willing to compromise Ariadne's safety.

"Just listen, OK? You take me up there, we play it cool right? Like I'm really going to go through with being his… maiden." Ariadne cringed at the word.

"No." August said sternly.

"August be quiet a second." Ariadne answered back. "Once I get close enough, it will be easy enough for the two of us to ambush him and seal him back inside."

"But once you're there, we're going to have to figure out how to subdue Hyperion's flames." August reminded her.

"Well can't you subside heat like Will can? You could just take away his flames." Ariadne said. August realized now that she had been doing just that inadvertently when she got angry.

"Yes, yes I can. But, not forever." August responded, once again shaking her head in frustration. "We need a way to seal him in the caldera permanently. If I seal the caldera while he's still at full power, he can just heat everything back up and get loose again."

Ariadne nodded and thought for a few more seconds before a look of dawning spread across her face. "The pendant."

"The one Ed has?" August asked, making sure she was on the right track.

"Yes! We can use the pendant to keep his light source, the flames, out! We just need a way to get it around his neck." Ariadne explained.

"If I subdue the flames long enough while you ambush him and get the pendant around his neck, I can cool and seal the caldera for good." August said, putting the pieces together in her head.

"That's it then. Alright, let's go get Ed." Ariadne agreed, helping August up.

"Bring on the heat!" August growled. It was time for some action.

* * *

><p><em>If by some weird alternate universe stretch of the imagination this ever becomes an animated feature, I totally want the voice actor who played Scar to play Hyperion. <em>


	38. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37: Don't Be Afraid**

"And why can't we use the pegasi?" August asked as she and Ariadne made their way through the dense jungle like area of the island back towards the volcano.

"Because that's a moving yet in plain sight target." Ariadne answered, sometimes darting off ahead of August in a small blitz of super speed, only to dart back to her side seconds later.

"Why would he kill you if you're the thing he wants?" August asked, still irked.

"August, think for a second." Ariadne said, pausing to look at her. "Who's to say that this isn't just some elaborate scheme to get me and you up there at the same time so he can kill us both?"

August nodded, realizing that Ariadne was probably right, yet again. "Alright, I get your point." They continued their trek up the mountain. "Are you sure Ed and the other satyrs have made camp up here?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm the one that sent them up here in the first place." Ariadne answered, walking about a yard in front of August.

August wasn't done asking questions though. In fact, she had started once they had started hiking up the mountain about a half hour ago, and hadn't stopped. Her nerves had acted up again, and she wanted to know every little detail she possible could before facing Hyperion, yet again. "What about-"

"August! Enough questions!" Ariadne snapped, turning around to face August with a look of genuine anger.

"I just wanted to know if-"

"August, you've done nothing but ask questions since we left base camp, and honestly the answer to anything else you have to ask is 'I don't know!'" She explained exasperatedly. Ariadne huffed and continued her march back up the side of the mountain in silence.

August also shut up, not expecting Ariadne to snap at her like that. Every day at camp when she would tutor August, she always answered her questions and was patient with her, even when August had thousands of questions. This wasn't like Ariadne at all.

Then, the realization hit August like a truck. "You're scared." She said, realizing exactly what was going on. The only other time she had seen Ariadne snap was after their bout with Hades.

"No I'm not." Ariadne answered quickly and without emotion.

"Yes you are." August argued.

"No I'm really not. Now shut up and keep walking." Ariadne demanded, still a good few feet away from August.

August knew she had to do something before they jumped into battle. Now wasn't the time for either of them to start breaking under pressure, so August did the only thing she could do. She ran up behind Ariadne, turned her around, and pulled her in for a hug.

"August get off me!" Ariadne snapped again, struggling against August's hold.

"No." August responded coolly.

"August now is not the time for romantic gestures!" Ariadne half whined, half growled, still struggling to get out of August's arms.

"That's a shame." August deadpanned, still not easing up.

"I hate you!" Ariadne growled, also not easing up on her struggling.

"No you don't." August said, still keeping calm.

"Why can't you take anything seriously?" Ariadne berated.

"Why can't you just surrender for five seconds?" August finally asked, still not letting go. Ariadne finally gave up and leaned into August, shaking violently. They stayed silent for a few seconds, August enjoying a moment of peace.

"You can't let anything hurt me, you promised!" Ariadne finally stammered out into August's shoulder.

"I won't. I don't break promises." August said, still not letting go any time soon.

"You can't tell anyone this happened." Ariadne whispered.

"That what happened?" August asked.

"That I had a panic attack mid battle." She answered.

"It's ok to be scared. I am." August said, moving Ariadne to meet her eyes.

"For you, sure." Ariadne answered, breaking away and continuing to walk, facing away from August while talking. "But it's different when your mother is who mine is."

"How so?" August asked, confused.

Ariadne gave a slight chuckle before answering. "You don't get it do you? The way Half-Blood works."

August remained silent, waiting for an explanation.

"The Romans, they've got it right I think. They split their leadership between people who've earned it and understand how to run an army. They pick their cohorts in battle wisely and plan accordingly based on the strengths of the individuals. People look up to these leaders because they've proved themselves to be leaders." Ariadne paused for a second, collecting her thoughts.

Once again, August said nothing.

"But in Half-Blood, we don't really have that. I mean sure, people look up the Annabeth and Percy as our leaders because they've indeed proven themselves, but they have no official right or rank. Instead, Half-Blood follows the Athena cabin in what they have to say, and their plans." Ariadne explained.

"Why?" August finally asked.

Ariadne looked back at August with a look that made it seem like the answer was obvious. "The goddess of battle strategy and wisdom's cabin is the leader of Half-Blood because of that very reason." She answered. "It is expected that our cabin be the best because, even since the camps history can remember, we've been the best. Sure, Ares cabin has campers who know their way around a war, and yeah there have been a handful of Big Three campers who have made their mark, but Ares's kids are as fickle in their maturity as he is, and after World War Two, the Big Three haven't exactly been pumping out kids on a regular basis."

"So that leaves you guys in charge." August concluded.

"Bingo. And that means I can't be anything less than perfect." Ariadne said, sternly.

"Well I think you're perfect." August complimented, jogging up next to Ariadne.

Ariadne rolled her eyes in response. "Not _that _kind of perfect you hopeless romantic."

August smiled at the compliment, but once again remained silent, waiting for an explanation.

"I'm supposed to be brilliant and creative, wise and reserved, battle prepared and always ready for the fight when it arrives." Ariadne continued.

"You're all of those." August reminded her.

"Yes, but I'm flawed where I'm not supposed to be flawed." Ariande answered, looking down. "When I came to Half-Blood, the thought of learning how to fight and battle terrified me. I wanted no part in anything violent or life threatening. Meanwhile, all of my siblings were just itching for a chance to prove their strengths."

"Why is that bad?" August asked, not seeing a problem.

"Hello, earth to Augustine! I'm Ariadne DeLonge, daughter of THE battle Goddess. And I hate fighting. Where does that seem like a good match?" Ariadne asked, almost mad again.

August shrugged.

"It's not that I don't like Greek heroes or the history, because I do and love them, and I actually do admire people like Percy and Jason who can battle and be relatively ok. But I'm not like that. I'm afraid of every monster in the book, I had chronic nightmares for years after learning that they were even in existence, and I can't even kill the smallest spider in my room." Ariadne rambled, not looking up.

"You said that last one was genetic." August reminded her.

"Even Annabeth can kill small spiders out of blind rage." Ariadne grumbled. "I'm an artist, not a warrior. All I ever wanted to do was paint and draw cool pictures of Greek Gods and myths, not live them."

"That's ok, I don't want to fight either." August said, still not seeing a problem.

"But you can be that way. I'm supposed to have a genetic predisposition to love the art of war, and here I am, a coward." Ariadne finished.

"I don't find you a coward at all. You're one of the most brave people I've ever met. And you fight skilled and valiantly all the time." August said, not sure what Ariadne was talking about.

"For Christ sake August, I chicken out ever time I'm supposed to step up!" Ariadne answered, giving August another 'you're crazy' look.

"When, Ariadne? I've never seen you not step up to the plate when needed." August responded, still not buying a word of anything Ariadne was saying.

"Well let's count, shall we?" Ariadne said bitterly. "Wolfman, I could have easily fought on after breaking a rib, but instead I stayed behind because I was scared; the canyon, I could have taken down tons more of those griffons and harpies, but instead I panicked and stayed close to you the whole time; the fury at Jupiter, I should have been fighting right beside you, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything; and the reason you had to waste your arrow in order to save me in the underworld was because I panicked and faltered during battle, not to mention I didn't say shit to Hades when you two were arguing! I couldn't even work up the courage to tell you I love you, and instead waited for you to make the first move! I'm the worst Athenian ever, and there is no reason to think other wise!" Ariadne whined.

August shook her head disbelievingly. "If you weren't brave, you wouldn't have even come with me in the first place." August argued, stepping in front of Ariadne before she could continue walking. "You wouldn't even be here, right now, hiking up this mountain on the way to face a Titan if you weren't brave. You wouldn't have come with me on this quest, gone into the caves, gone into the underworld, fought monsters, and come out standing if you weren't brave. You wouldn't have kissed me if you weren't brave. Yeah, ok sure you might be afraid of a lot of things, but bravery isn't what you're not afraid of. It's about standing up against things you are." August said, looking Ariadne dead in the eyes, meaning what she just said.

"I wish my siblings thought the way you did." Ariadne said quietly, once again leaning into August.

"They don't?" August found that hard to believe.

Ariadne shook her head. "No, I was always the odd man out. I'm not close with any of my siblings, except for Malcolm and Annabeth. I think Malcolm took me in because he felt a little protective of me, and I think that Annabeth considers me something of a challenge for her to conquer. Not that I mind really; her training has done wonders for me." Ariadne explained. "Other than that, any older siblings gave up on trying to train me and all moved on until Annabeth became head councilor, and any younger siblings don't look up to me like they do Annabeth or Malcolm."

"That's…" August trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Sucky?" Ariadne finished, breaking away and continuing to walk. "You don't know the half of it." She gave a small, weak chuckle. "The worst part is figuring out your mother gives you special treatment because she pities you."

"She doesn't pity you." August said, refusing to believe that could be anywhere near true. "She sees your potential."

"I just don't know anymore." Ariadne responded, distraught. "Why can't people see me the way you do?"

"ARRY! AUGUST! IS THAT YOU?" A familiar voice sounded through the jungle like landscape, cutting off the conversation. August held still, listening again. "August!" The voice called, followed by the owner, Ed.

"Ed! Just the man I was looking for!" August called out to him as she met him halfway.

"You were? What for?" He asked, stopping a few feet in front of her.

"Ariadne and I understand how we're going to take this guy down, and we need the pendant." August explained.

"You do? I thought you said you could do it without." Ed reminded her.

"We've got a plan. You see, August can seal Hyperion into the volcano, but we need the pendant to stifle his power in order to make sure that he can't just escape again once sealed." Ariadne explained. "So, can we have the pendant?"

"Well I left it at the camp see…" Ed trailed off, looking back up the mountain, towards the satyr camp.

"Why on earth would you do that?" Ariadne asked, annoyed.

"Well I didn't think you'd umm… need it?" Ed said, sounding unsure of himself.

"Where's the pendant, Ed?" August asked, now annoyed also.

"Look, I'll get it for you. Just follow me." He gestured back up the mountain.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! DON'T EVEN TOUCH HIM! HE'S A FAKE!" Another voice screamed. To August's surprise, another Ed came barreling down the mountain towards the party.

August was too stunned to respond properly. "Ed? What the-"

"Fake! You think I'm the fake?" The first Ed responded as the second Ed stopped next to his doppelganger.

"I know you're the fake! You almost tore apart our camp!" The second Ed challenged. "August, you have to believe me!"

"Don't listen to him! He's probably one of Hyperion's minions!" The first Ed defended.

"Everyone just hang on!" August demanded, thoroughly confused. She drew Helios, preparing for any sudden changes.

"Whoa whoa whoa! August hang on!" The second Ed said, backing away from the dagger.

"I'm sure we can work this out without having to use THAT." The first one agreed.

"Relax. If you are who you say you are, I should have no reason to resort to violence in the first place." August said, looking between both redheaded satyrs. "I'm merely getting ready for one we do find out who's who."

"Oh for the love of…" The second Ed face palmed, looking like he had had it. "Augustine, I'm the real Ed. Your middle name is Donner, your favorite guilty pleasure band is Owl City, your birthday is in September but you were named August because you were born a week late past your original due date in August, you have a birthmark behind your right ear, you dyed your hair bright pink in seventh grade, and if I wasn't the real Ed, you wouldn't have given me this!" He finished, pulling out the midnight black pendant from under his shirt, still hanging around his neck.

"Yep, you're Ed." August concluded, jumping at the first satyr without hesitation. She barely missed as the fake Ed moved like a ghost out of her path.

August looked back to see the fake Ed's eyes glowing red, a set of impossibly sharp teeth forming in his mouth. He chuckled darkly, "Wrong answer."

August wasted no time jumping back into battle.

_This day can't possibly get any worse… or weirder. _She thought to herself as the imposter changed and shifted before her eyes. He was faster than the woman at the beach, and was completely changed in seconds. What stood before August, Ed, and Ariadne was no longer a satyr, or anything they had ever seen for that matter. _I stand corrected. _Was all that came to mind as August looked at her new opponent.

* * *

><p><em>What? Could it be that someone besides August gets *gasp* character development? Yes, yes it's true! Now we get to see why Ariadne is so manic sometimes. It's because she's a scaredy-cat. Also, Ed is back! Yay!<em>


	39. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38: Hearts on Fire**

The beast that stood before them was another Nemean lion, because apparently August hadn't seen enough of those on this trip. However, this beast was different.

First off, it was huge; it was the size of a good-sized yacht. And second, it was the meanest looking lion August had even seen. Its fur was a dingy, rust red; the mane was a dark ashen grey; the eyes were completely yellow with reddish iris's, and its mouth was dripping with a foul mixture of decaying prey and thick, heavy saliva. This was not a normal Nemean lion, and August felt impossibly small standing in front of it.

The lion roared, which sounded more like a freight train carrying an angry t-rex than any big cat alive, and charged. Ariadne had used her super speed to get out of the way, and August slammed Ed to the ground as the beast pounced.

"That's the ugliest fucking cat I've ever seen." August commented as she stood back up.

"Let's try not to anger it further, shall we?" Ariadne responded, appearing next to August as she zipped back from behind the creature. August wished that all three of them had super speed at this point as the cat chomped down right where Ariadne had been standing.

"Three against a furry war tank?" August said as the best swiped a massive paw at the trio, and she narrowly avoided getting hit. "That's not exactly a fair fight."

"We don't have a choice!" Araidne called back as she again zipped out of the way.

August ducked and slashed again, but wasn't fast enough as a large paw slammed her on the ground.

"August!" Ed yelled, from an unknown location. "Hang on! I'm coming for ya!"

"No… this isn't… fair." August croaked out as the lion applied more weight. Oxygen was leaving her lungs fast, but just as she was about to pass out she caught sight of Ariadne on top of the lion's head, ready to plunge her knives in.

Unfortunately, the lion felt her on top of his back, and shook with such force that it sent her flying. Ariadne landed on her back, effectively getting the wind knocked out of her. The good news was the his shaking gave August just enough time to squirm out from under the giant paw and lean up against a tree and try to heal. She was sure that her ribs had been shoved out of place and cracked.

Ariadne had gotten back up too, and was attempting to fight off the giant monster, but the lion was proving too much for her to handle. She was fast, but the lion was too big and too strong to get close to without potentially losing a limb in the process.

Then, out of no where, Ed jumped down from a tree holding a large branch, coming down on the lion's head with tremendous force. He landed on the ground and spun the stick like he had been taking martial arts classes for an eternity. The lion staggered back and growled, obviously in pain, but obviously still alive.

August had healed and rushed back in, stunned at Ed's new found talent. "Where'd you learn to do that?" She asked Ed as she ducked once more as the lion pounced again, sending dirt and leaves flying.

"You pick up weird skills when you're around trees and branches long enough." Ed said diving to the ground and rolling, only to spring back up like he and August had so many times when free running.

"Ok new plan! I say we run!" Ariadne yelled as she tried to stab at the beast, only to almost have her head bitten off.

"No! Rule number one about vicious creatures," Ed yelled back as he used his stick to smack the beast in the temple, "You don't run away unless you want to be hunted down and killed!"

"It's too big for us to handle in a short period of time, and time is what we don't have!" Ariadne argued, avoiding another set of claws.

"We don't have a choice!" August yelled back, sticking a few inches of her dagger into the paw of the lion, only to have him swipe her to the ground again.

August was running out of ideas quickly. Ariadne was right; this beast was not an easily dispatched monster. August picked herself back up and charged back in, but a loud roar shook the jungle, causing everyone, even the lion, to pause.

"I'M COMING MASTER!" A voice in August's head yelled.

"Newman?" August whispered, stunned. How did he even know where she was?

Then, a huge, golden body came flying through the air, smashing into the bigger beast and toppling him over. Newman had come to the rescue, and was tearing at the bigger lion like nothing else mattered. August was almost a little scared at how monstrous Newman looked.

"MASTER, RUN!" His voice shouted in August's head as he continued to gain the upper hand. What he lacked in size against the lion, Newman made up for in speed, reflexes, and sheer rage.

"No! You'll get killed!" August yelled back.

"Trust me, master! You saved my life, I will save yours." Newman answered, once again pouncing on his opponent and chomping down on the neck.

The biggest beast reared up and tossed Newman off, but Newman was quick on his feet as he got back up and slashed his claws deeply across the lion's face. Gold dust spilled out like rain. August was too stunned to move as she watched the scene unfold before her.

"August! This is our chance to get away and get back up to the mountain!" Ariadne persuaded, tugging her arm. August waffled. She wasn't about to leave Newman to fight something twice his size, but they were running out of time. "August quit stalling, come on!"

August finally convinced herself to move and turned back up towards the mountain, but gave the fighting duo one last look.

"MASTER! GO!" Newman commanded as he sunk his teeth into the face of his opponent. August turned, and took off towards the mountain peak once more. Ariadne zipped ahead a ways, Ed ran behind August, and August took up the middle.

August looked up at the sky, which was an orange gold. She knew that it was late in the day, and that they were indeed running out of time to finish off Hyperion. But August had a thought as they continued their trek; maybe if the sun set, Hyperion would lose power. That idea comforted her as the made their way closer and closer to the caldera.

She looked down at the side of the mountain where Percy and Jason's camps stood for battle, and could barely make out what was going on. There was movement, lots of it, which only meant more fighting on their part. That was enough to crush any comfort she had once felt.

"It's getting really hot." Ed commented from behind her.

"Yeah get used to it. Things aren't going to get any better any time soon." August said back. She looked down at the ground, which was now becoming less and less vegetated, and more and more dark and glass like. Tired of the ground, she looked back up to see that the path in front of her led right back to the caldera where Hyperion waited for her to take him up on his bargain. She sped up, coming to a halt at the lip of the pool of lava.

"Alright, get up! I've done my part, it's time for you to do yours." August called into the pit. Ariadne stood a few feet behind her, waiting for her command.

The lava bubbled and shifted, once again forming Hyperion to life. The lava didn't exactly settle afterward like last time though; the entire caldera bubbled threateningly. "Well." He said expectantly, leaning his face on his hand as if bored.

"Well what?" August asked.

"Bring her too me dammit! Don't dally!" Hyperion boomed.

"Ok, ok." August said, holding her hands up to signal surrender. She turned around, only to see that neither Ed or Ariadne were behind her. _Oh crap! Did they seriously run at a time like this? _August thought to herself, panicking. _My gods, what do I do now?_

"I'm waiting." Hyperion growled impatiently, the lava glowing angrily.

August looked back at Hyperion with a confused and scared expression. "I… don't know what hap-"

"GAH!" Hyperion let out a pained yell as he hunched over in his rocky throne in pain. He violently grabbed the attacker from his back and through it to the lava. August barely had any time to react once she figured out that the attacker was none other than Ariadne.

A cage of cooled and jagged volcanic glass instantaneously formed around Ariadne, catching her before she had a chance to hit the bubbling mass of lava and burn to a crisp. The cage's pedestal raised itself slightly higher than Hyperion's head, giving Ariadne an almost literal birds eye view of the world around her.

Hyperion stumbled to his feet, the wound Ariadne had managed to cause with her knives obviously being enough to put him in at least enough pain to slow him. Golden ichgor oozed from his back and trickled to the ground, causing little billows of steam to form where they landed.

Hyperion glared at August, breathing in deeply either from anger, hatred, pain, or maybe even all of the above. "You, INSOLENT MUTTS." He boomed, sending lava splattering around him. "You think you can trick me into a trap so utterly predictable?"

August looked at Ariadne, who looked as scared and trapped as wild animal. "I… I…" she couldn't think of a response. All she knew was that she had to get Ariadne out of there before Hyperion cooked her alive.

"You, you! Yes you! My brethren told me to wait until you all came to me in order to dispatch of your pathetic little family reunion you call an army. Well I waited MUCH longer than I should have to reclaim the sun from the bastard you call a father and rebuild my army!" He ranted ferociously, looking less and less human as he continued.

"I gave you a choice to save your people, and you were stupid enough to try and pull a fast one on me!" Hyperion looked to be getting bigger as he got angrier. He took a step forward, and August stumbled backwards, falling onto her butt as she looked up at the hulking Titan. She wasn't wrong about him looking bigger either; the lava around him was snaking its way too him, collecting at his base and forming Hyperion into an even bigger menace.

Even from her standpoint on the ground, August could see that Ariadne was shaking like a baby deer, and August was certain that she wasn't fairing much better.

"Do you know who I am? Do you know what I can and will do to you and your world?" Hyperion growled, his voice turning more and more demonic as his size and shape changed from that of a man to a hulking demon of volcanic glass and magma. "You have failed to meet my one request! Not that it mattered, I wouldn't have carried out any part of my bargain anyway for such a loathsome mix breed."

Hyperion, now a good twenty feet tall, looked at the cage that held Ariadne. Ariadne backed into the far side of the cage, as far away from Hyperion as she could get. His expression turned surprisingly soft as he looked at her. "Don't worry your pretty little head for now. You will survive this war, I'll make sure of that. I'll make sure you live to see every single one of your loved ones burnt to a pile of ash, and the rest of them frozen to death once I take away their precious sun." Hyperion cooed sickeningly.

"No…" Ariadne mouthed as Hyperion continued to smirk at her.

"Oh yes. And after that," He looked at August before continuing, "I'm going to make sure that we get some alone time so you can get to know me from the inside."

August didn't remember how it happened, but all she remembered was standing up and feeling the very core of the lava, the essence of its heat. Then, she somehow pulled it away. It didn't make sense to her, but the heat felt like a sheet, engulfing the actual substance of the magma, and she had pulled with all of her might.

Where she had pulled the sheet away from, however, wasn't exactly the magma itself. Just as she pulled, Hyperion's left arm cooled and shattered, leaving barely a stub where it once protruded.

August liked this new found power. "Too bad for you that none of that is going to happen." August threatened. "And I'm here to make sure of that."

"You will defeat me?" Hyperion cackled as the lava formed around the nub and reformed his left arm perfectly. "Who do you think you are?" He boomed.

August took a step forward. "You're worst nightmare."

* * *

><p><em>There is no excuse for this being late, other than a HORRIBLE case of writers block. I had this chapter pre-written several weeks ago, but after re-reading it, I hated it! It was just so boring, and nothing was happening. It took me all this time to actually pull my shit together and actually fix it to post it. So I'm really sorry about how late this is, I really am. But, it was either this being super late, or you guys getting a shitty half-assed chapter. On the bright side, the other chapters I have written are good to go and will be posted before I leave for Europe in a week. Until then, more story to come! <em>


	40. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39: Bossman**

Hyperion threw a plume of lava at August with such force, that it appeared to be more liquid than it actually was. She knew that she had stepped into battle with something very powerful, and very angry.

August jumped to the left right as the lava hit the ground, though the force of how hard Hyperion threw it caused it to splatter in her direction with a vicious hissing sound. However, the second it got in a foot radius of her, it instantly solidified and crumbled to the ground.

_I can use that. _August thought to herself as she looked down at the lava. Testing her luck, because she honestly didn't have a better plan, she took a step forward into the caldera. Just as she had hoped, the lava around her became solid as she took a step into it. _I can really use that._

"So you really think you can challenge me?" Hyperion held out his arms, much akin to someone who might have just said 'come at me bro.' The caldera grumbled and vibrated dangerously underneath August, letting her know that her own heat bending was nothing compared to his.

Moving that thought to the side, August took a deep breath. "Yes, I do." She lunged, right as Hyperion tossed another plume of lava. August didn't have time to move as it approached her, but it solidified a few feet before hitting her in the shoulder and knocking her to the ground and sending her skidding.

Hyperion stuck his hand into the lava, pulling out a molten lance that was about the length of a telephone pole, but as sharp and deadly as any lance she had ever seen.

"Just you and me then, mixbreed." He growled, jabbing the lance towards August, leaving her little time to react as she ducked. The lance quickly molded and shifted into a very dangerous looking sword, and Hyperion swiped.

"Wait till I deliver your head to your father personally!" He cheered, laughing as August flipped away from the blade and into a wall of rocks. "I can just see the look on his face!"

"August!" Ariadne yelled from the cage, helpless as she watched the titan openly mock and torment August.

"You'll be doing no such thing!" August yelled back, side flipping to avoid yet another attack. Another plume of lava shot towards her, leaving her no room to duck. But just as it approached her vicinity, it hardened, creating a long cylinder of cooled rock that was too heavy to continue it's trajectory, and it fell into the pit. "Nice try." She growled, lunging again and delivering a spinning slash to Hyperion's leg, causing a gash that oozed gold liquid.

"GAH! That's it!" Hyperion yelled, sending another tidal wave of lava towards August. It crashed down over her, cooling creating another cage in which August was now officially trapped.

Hyperion sneered and looked at the cage Ariadne was trapped in, and tapped a bar. It completely liquidized, but Hyperion caught Ariadne on the way down, holding her in his hand like a greedy toddler would a Barbie doll.

"Can't… breath…" Ariadne choked out. August grabbed a hold of the bars of her cage, trying to melt them, but Hyperion's power was preventing her from doing so.

"Relax. You're fast right?" Hyperion asked Ariadne, who was turning an interesting shade of purple. She shook her head. "DON'T lie to me." Hyperion growled while Ariadne still struggled. "I'm giving you a chance to save your family. Go, run and tell them that they have five minutes to get off the island before I send down this entire caldera. If you don't return after that, I send all the monsters I can to desecrate your camps. Got it?" Hyperion growled close to Ariadne's face.

"NO!" August yelled through the bars.

Hyperion set Ariadne down unforgivingly, sending her sprawling and gasping for breath. "Fine! Fine!" Ariadne gasped, getting up and shaking herself off. "I'll go!"

"ARIADNE, DON'T!" August called back.

"We don't have a choice!" Ariadne yelled, turning away and zipping down the mountain before August had any chance to try and stop her.

August's cage was suddenly liquidized, Hyperion looming over her. "This would have been a fair fight had you decided to play fair." He said sternly, as if reprimanding his own child. "But I've got a friend who would love to meet you."

The lava to August's right started to shift and form, another makhai crawling out.

"Oh no." August said under her breath. There was only one monster August was afraid of, and it was currently cooling off.

She wasn't about to give in that easily, however, and quickly picked herself back up and charged. The makhai took no time charging back, spinning like a tornado of destruction.

"Good luck." Hyperion chuckled as he melded back into the lava and out of site.

August barely had time to look away from Hyperion flashing out of existence before the makhai made another deadly whirl towards her. She jumped over the first blade, using the second blade as a step to reach the demon's head, which she did so with the blade of her dagger. A large gash to the temple marked August's swing, though it wasn't nearly enough to stop the warrior demon.

"_Your blood will spill in the name of my father." _The makhai growled as his wound formed and August stumbled back to earth.

"What. Does that. Even. MEAN?!" August yelled, each word punctuated by a series of swift slashes, only some of which hit the molten body of the monster.

Suddenly, like a miracle, a large spear was sent from above, puncturing the makhai through one shoulder and out through the other side of his ribs.

As the makhai struggled and faltered, August looked up to see a black Pegasus circling. "Percy…" August whispered under her breath. She knew that with the heat he wouldn't be able to land, but thanked the Gods anyways.

"August!" August heard a voice from behind her yell, only to see Ed riding Ammon and landing a few feet away from her. "I had to get someone to help, and Percy seemed like the only- DUCK!"

August reacted quickly and impulsively, ducking as the makhai had forgone weapons in favor of crushing August to a pulp with his bare hands. Ammon became spooked and took off, leaving no escape plan for Ed.

Then, thunder boomed overhead, a lightning strike punctuating the fact that a storm was looming over the battle.

"That's odd," Ed mentioned as he dove out of reach of another molten arm, "it was clear when we got here."

"Now's not the time," August ducked again as the makhai once again growled and swiped with a large fist "to discuss the weather!"

"No seriously, August! Look up!" Ed pointed towards the sky, which was not only covering with dark, ominous clouds very quickly, but also had two distinct forms moving throughout it.

"Is that…" August trailed off as she ducked between the legs of the demon, cooling more lava with it.

"Percy and Jason!" August turned to her left, just in time to see Ariadne zip off and barrel into the makhai, the velocity of the hit sending him sprawling. August quickly grabbed Ariadne and helped her up before the makhai could react, and just in time for the rain to start falling. "I told Jason to go help Percy create a storm! It will help cool off the lava!"

"That's brilliant." August commented, just as the lava began to rumble.

Hyperion reformed, helping the injured and apparently tired makhai up and then dissipating him, only to have two huge, molten, rock hounds forming in it's place. "Let's let these two play with your friends, August. It appears that my lava tidal wave will have to commence sooner than I had anticipated." He said, looking up at the sky where Percy and Jason were currently summoning the mother of all rainstorms.

Hyperion turned back towards the ground, and with a flick of his wrist, the hounds were off. Ariadne took no time to confront hers, appearing to have taken a level in courage, but Ed once again dove out of the way.

Thunder boomed overhead, the rain now falling in massive sheets. "I can't let you do that." August took a step forward, the lava underneath her solidifying and cracking.

"Then you shall have to die." Hyperion growled, the large spear once again forming seemingly out of sheer fire and anger in his hand. He thrust down with his spear, barely missing August as she stumbled back.

Hyperion took another step forward, attempting to once again get a stab at August, but August used her previous move and ducked between the Titan's legs, borrowing her dagger deep into his right thigh and creating a deep gash that would normally have permanently immobilize a human.

"RAAAAARRRGGGH!" Hyperion's pained yell was almost drowned out by another clap of thunder. The rain had only gotten worse, Percy and Jason circling overhead on their respective mounts like two guardian angels in jeans.

August felt the heat in the caldera subsiding quickly, both due to the rain and her ever-growing anger. She looked at Hyperion, who seemed to be having difficulty mobilizing the lava to his wound to fix it.

August was about to go in for the kill when the site of one of the lava hounds preparing to rip directly into a pinned Ed's chest made her stop short.

"ED!" Just as his name escaped her lips, Newman came leaping from the depths of the jungle, slamming into the lava hound and sinking his teeth into its neck. August heard a sickening crunch as Newman's immensely powerful jaw crushed and severed the breathing way, the hound exploding into dust quickly after.

"I'll be damned!" August cried as she watched Newman help Ariadne go after the second hound, "he made it!"

"But you won't." Hyperion finished as his spear clipped August's shoulder before she had a good chance to move.

"Ow…" August groaned and stumbled back onto her butt, Hyperion looming over her and about to strike.

Ariadne was faster, however, as she appeared in a blur of speed and sliced open Hyperion's belly with her knife. Fresh, golden liquid spilled out onto the now almost cooled lava.

"YOU WILL NOT WIN!" Hyperion boomed, slamming his fist onto the hardened surface, breaking it open to a molten under layer. The lava almost instantly began to cool as August grabbed the heat away, and the rain continued to pour overhead.

August stood up, wound healed and anger flaring. "Oh yes, we will."

August charged, with Newman in tow, directly at the titan. Somehow, Hyperion managed to move just in time, sending August skidding into a sharp turn. A dark blur whizzed by Hyperion, leaving a deep gash across his face.

Hyperion's inhuman reflexes reacted just as quickly, flinging Ariadne harshly into the side of the crater. She hit the stony wall with impact, the disheartening thud letting August know that Ariadne wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

"Ah… shit…" Ariadne groaned as she held her arm and struggled to sit up.

"DUCK!" Ed's voice once again rang out through the volcanic arena, followed by Newman's roar as the lion barreled into Hyperion, Ed as his rider.

"Nuisance!" Hyperion growled as he grabbed Newman by the scruff and hurled him to the ground. "I should have killed you when I had the chance!" He yelled, ready to skewer Newman through the heart.

"NO!" August didn't even hesitate to ready her weapon as she slammed into the spear right before it hit Newman, shattering it into a million golden shards.

Newman got up, now just as angry as August, and prepared to fight. "You were not a good master!" Newman's voice growled through August's head. "And I will not let you take away my new one!" With that, Newman pounced onto the wounded Titan and began mauling with a vengeance.

"August!" Ed called from behind her. August turned around to see Ed attempting to stand up, having fallen pretty hard when Hyperion grabbed Newman. "You… you need this." Ed handed August the necklace, and August knew immediately what she had to do.

"Ed, get Ariadne and Newman to safety. I need to finish this." She instructed.

"But… no! No, that's too dangerous!" Ed protested.

August looked over at Newman and Hyperion, the Titan having gained enough energy to at least wrestle Newman at bay. "Hyperion is weak right now. You two probably don't want to be caught up in the chaos when I seal the caldera."

"Ed!" Ariadne called over from her crumpled position on the ground. "Ed, listen to August. She's the only one of us who can do this."

Ed wavered, but knew that he had little time to get his friends to safety. "Fine, fine. But if you don't make it back, I… I don't know what I'll do."

"I'll be fine, Ed!" August said as she rushed back into battle. "Go!"

August ran back in just as Newman pinned Hyperion to the ground, the Titan having lost a good amount of mass due to his lava no longer being accessible.

"Newman, go find Ed and Ariande and take them to safety!" August commanded. Newman did as he was told the first time, much to August's relief. He gave one more mournful look before jumping out of the rocky caldera, and letting Ed and Ariadne mount him.

Hyperion struggled to his knees. Doubled over on his knees and badly injured, August finally saw Hyperion in a more vulnerable form. Hunched over, wounds seeping, and his fiery aura gone, Hyperion looked more or less like a buffed up version of Apollo. August actually felt kind of sorry for him.

"I should thank you." August said as she approached with the pendant in one hand and her dagger in another.

"What for?" The titan spat, uneasily standing up and attempting to punch her, only to miss as August sidestepped, his fist creating a crater in the ground. "So you can vanquish me and claim your title as hero?" Another punch, and once again August moved.

"For showing me what I'm capable of." August answered back.

Hyperion let out a mad laugh, letting August know that he was close to, or had lost it. "Well I've got one more trick up my sleeve, and it ain't pretty!"

August had no idea what was happening, but before her eyes, Hyperion started to light up like an LED lamp. Then it hit her; his final swan song to her, the blaze of glory that would end up killing both of them and sealing their bodies into the volcano, was showing her his final form.

"WHAT SAY YOU THIS?" Hyperion bellowed, the rain doing very little to obstruct the blinding light that was now taking over the entire landscape.

August knew that she had one shot at this, and it she probably wouldn't make it out alive.

"If I fall," August yelled as she ran towards Hyperion at full force, "I'm taking you with me!" With that, she smashed into him, using the dagger to stab the pendant deep into his chest.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Hyperion boomed, August not opening her eyes to subject herself to whatever horror Hyperion had turned himself into. The rain had begun to subside, which let August know that Percy and Jason had both gotten out before they could be incinerated by Hyperion's final form, and leaving August with very little time before the lava heated back up.

"This," August yelled, pushing in further and feeling the very core of the heat within Hyperion, "is what happens when you fuck with my world." With that, the pendant cracked and exploded, sucking in the blinding light into a miniature black hole. August dared to open her eyes as she witnessed what looked like Hyperion's youth getting sucked down a black drain, every second passing making him look older and older.

She jumped off of him, readying herself for the final blow. Kneeling before him, she felt the heated magma underneath the cooled lava surface, and made it rise around Hyperion into a deadly crater.

"How?" Hyperion groaned, sounding very old and very tired. August kept steady, heating up the lava as hot as it could go.

"Hyperion?" August asked the Titan as he continued to sink into the lava; his new form that of an old man.

"What is it, mixbreed?" He asked, his voice completely frail as the pendant continued to suck his life.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" She asked. And with that, she gave it all she had and pulled. She pulled the very essence of the heat, as far as she could feel into the lava, as hard as she could.

At first, the crater holding Hyperion instantly hardened and sealed shut, a deafening silence befalling the now empty caldera. And then…

**BOOM **

A loud explosion followed by a ring of light threw August into the side of the caldera, loose rocks and debris following. A sound like that of a million planes taking of roared around her for what seemed like a full minute, the wind blowing and howling along with it.

And just as quickly as it happened, everything stopped. The world was perfectly still and silent for a few seconds before the small sounds of wildlife seeped back in. Little crickets chirped, geckos croaked, a light breeze rustled the trees.

August lay on the ground in immense pain, her whole body feeling like it had just been let out of a vice. Every movement caused another shard stab, breathing was labored, her mind fuzzy. She did the only thing should could, and looked up at the night sky, admiring the stars.

_They're so bright. _August thought to herself with the last remaining energy she had. Then it hit her; there was no other light around to hinder the view. No camp lamps, streetlights, car lights, monsters, titans, fire, nothing. It was just her, the stars, and the stillness. And as she lay there looking up at the stars, she could have sworn she heard her name being called, but she couldn't be bothered to tell as everything faded to black.

* * *

><p><em>I'm back again! Let's just say that this chapter too me forever to write because I had 5 versions of this chapter, and I had to condense them all into one. But, THIS IS NOT THE END. Not completely anyways. This is the end of the battling, but we've got another chapter and a prologue to deal with. AND THEN *dun dun duuuun*, the sequel! Oh yes, it will be grand! So, enjoy, and the next chapter should be up by Monday! <em>


	41. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40: Zero To Hero  
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_Man this ground is comfy. _August thought to herself as she rolled over onto her side. She let out an exhausted sigh, though she was feeling light years better than she had just a few minutes ago after that bizarre explosion had knocked her senses out. The ground beneath her bounced and squeaked as she turned over.

_Wait, that doesn't make sense. _She thought. Her eyes shot open, and immediately closed again when she realized how bright it was outside. She sat up into Indian style position and rubbed her eyes, then reopened them.

She was no longer in the caldera; that was for sure. In fact, she wasn't even on the mountain anymore. She was inside a medical tent on the beach, sitting on a fresh linen cot, and it appeared to be about midday. A mirror hung on the canvas wall, and August stumbled to her feet to get a good look at herself.

Her appearance wasn't nearly as bad as she thought. Her face was impossibly dirty, but as she backed up she realized that all of her wounds had healed, and she looked fairly rested for someone who just fought a Titan and won, though she didn't feel rested. She almost swayed just thinking about how tired she was.

August looked over to her right at the medical table and saw a clean Half-Blood shirt and pair of jean shorts, and to her left was water basin. She took the liberty to change and wash a layer of dirt and soot off of her face and arms, grateful to feel at least a little clean.

After getting dressed, she turned back towards the mirror; though she looked the same something felt different. There was a tugging sensation deep inside of her that she couldn't explain. It wasn't exactly physical, but it wasn't emotional either.

"I'm tired." August said to herself, dismissing the feeling as her body acclimating to trauma. Then she realized that her hair looked odd. She ran her fingers through it, and realized exactly what was different. Her hair, which was naturally straw blonde, was concealing a now grey strip.

"So this is what happens when you do something crazy." She mumbled, figuring she'd dye it later. She grabbed a hair tie from her bag, which someone had placed beside her bed, and stumbled outside onto the beach as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

The beach seemed very empty, which was odd considering the fact that they had just fought a war. One tent was still set up, but there were no stray campers. August looked out into the ocean and found her answer; rowboats filled with campers were paddling back to the big ship, apparently having finished their packing of supplies.

August continued to walk, and as she walked close to the single tent, familiar voices made her stop.

"Alright, that's the last of the wounded and the supplies. I guess we better figure out how to move August. If only we knew just what was wrong it wouldn't be so risky." Annabeth's voice mused, sounding downtrodden.

"If Hyperion hadn't decided to kamikaze himself, I could have done something, I just know it." Percy groaned.

"It wasn't your fault, dude." Jason followed. "It's not like we could have predicted Hyperion suddenly going super mode while August-"

"She's not dead!" Ariadne's voice snapped, cutting Jason off.

"Well he didn't leave her in great condition." Jason argued. "It's been almost sixteen hours!"

"She'll be fine! Trust me." Ed snapped back.

Jason continued to try and defend himself "I'm not saying she won't be, I'm just saying-"August stepped into the tent, instantly shutting everyone up. "That she's totally fine." Jason finished, dumbstruck.

"You're standing!" Ed said with a grin, running over to her and hugging her.

"Don't, don't." August said, shying away from the touch. "Everything is still a little sore."

"Don't care!" Ariadne's said as she barreled into August. "You're alive, and I love you."

"My gods, you're ok! Do you know what happened on that mountain?" Percy asked, just as shocked as Jason.

August squirmed out of Ariadne's arms and rolled her neck. "I defeated a Titan, I guess."

"You sure did." Annabeth said with a nod. "You know that blast that happened?"

August nodded.

"You see you didn't just vanquish a Titan back into his prison." Annabeth continued. "You killed him."

"I… what?" August shook her head disbelievingly.

"I didn't think it could be done," Jason said, looking equally disbelieving, "but you did it. That blast was the final product of Hyperion's energy force leaving this world for good."

"But… that… no. No, that can't happen. I'm not that good." August refused to believe that she single handedly blasted a Titan out of existence.

"Well there's a difference between a Titan like Hyperion and a Titan like say, Kronos. Titans can be vaporized from existence, just like anything else. It just takes a lot of power, and you totally have a lot of that. " Percy said, enthusiastically patting her on the back.

"That may lead to some… issues, however." Ariadne said, biting her lip and looking like the quest wasn't finished just yet.

"The Gods sent this," Ed said, handing August a golden leafed envelope. "We didn't open it, but anything that is sent via mail and not just a direct visit is pretty formal."

"And formal in God terms doesn't always mean rainbows and happily ever after." Annabeth explained. "They may try and recruit you."

"For what?" August asked, not ready to have been berated with such news just after waking up from a sixteen-hour nap after a huge battle.

"To put it bluntly, Godhood." Percy said with a shrug. "Happened to me."

"And you turned it down?" August asked, shocked. Godhood seemed like the perfect career move for a hero like Percy.

"That doesn't mean what you think it means." Ariadne started. "For one thing, it's not 'you and two lucky friends get a chance to live in a perfect paradise for eternity.' It's more like you go alone, say goodbye every single one of your friends and family, get bound eternally to duties that you must carry out, and you're not even part of the main twelve."

"Well that's a bummer." August groaned. "I can turn it down though, right?"

"Yes, and I hope you will." Ed said, nodding his head.

"But…" Ariadne started, trailing off.

"But?" August didn't like the sound of that.

"But," Annabeth jumped in, "they may kill you."

August's heart stopped, her breath catching. "What? Why? What did I do?" She panicked.

"Calm down, calm down!" Percy said, raising his hands in a surrendering gesture. "That is only a very slim chance, and it's only if they think you're too powerful to exist. That also almost happened to me, and I'm still here. You just have to prove you're worthy to exist."

"How do I justify my existence?" August whined, now scared.

"I think you did by defeating Hyperion. Now open that letter." Ariadne said eagerly.

August tore into the envelope and removed a piece of thick, organic looking paper with golden inked handwriting.

_Augustine, _

_ It has come to our attention that you have gone above expectations and done the impossible. This has lead to some unfortunate side effects on your part, however, and we need to discuss the next course of action. Of course, there is also the talk of reward. _

_ -Zeus _

August breathed a sigh of relief. "They want to reward me." She said with a small laugh. "But there's something else. A side effect of some sort."

"What?" Ariadne said, looking over August's shoulder at the letter. "Side effects… odd."

"Let's not worry about that right now." Percy said, clapping his hands together. "August, the hero, is safe, we barely lost anyone during the battles, it's a great day out, and we'll all get to be back to camp for the Feast of Fortuna and the 4th of July fireworks!"

"Well before that, I want to thank all of you." August said, looking at each person in the tent. "Between battle plans, rain storms, excellent fighters, and just all around awesome people, I don't think I should be the only one with a letter. So thanks."

"Fuck it, group hug!" Ed said as he walked back over to August, Ariadne joining in.

"I hate all of you." August grumbled as Percy and Jason also joined in.

"Fine, fine." Annabeth said, giving in and completing the circle.

Even though the hug pained her muscles, August couldn't have been happier.

With all of supplies packed and everything moved, the Argo II took off for the camps. August spent most of the boat ride being congratulated and hailed as a hero by everyone, the never-ending barrage of star struck campers starting to grate on her until Ariadne pulled her into an empty master suite underneath the ship and locked the door.

"I'm not sure I like this hero business." August groaned, collapsing face first onto the king sized bed.

Ariadne lay down next to her, looking up at the ceiling of the nautical themed bedroom, which was painted with the constellations. "So you don't like being a hero?" She asked.

"I don't like the attention." August responded, flipping onto her back. "I liked it better when I was just 'August the camper' and not 'August the prophecy holder.' And I really don't like being August the new hero."

"Don't like the attention?" Ariadne sounded surprised, as though August had just said something in Klingon. "Isn't that what you live for?"

"I like being liked. This is a little much." August answered, opening her eyes and looking at Ariadne. "There's a difference between being different in a cool sense, and different in a 'you're not the same as everyone else' sense."

"Oh." Ariadne nodded like she understood. "I see."

"I just want this all to blow over." August groaned.

Ariadne rolled over and laid her head on August's chest. "Well that may not happen," She said, "but to me, I'll always be able to see you for who you are, not who people perceive you as."

"That works." August said, letting out a deep breath.

Ariadne pulled August closer to her. "It's cold down here."

"Well, we are essentially below the sea." August said. "Hang on, I bet I can make it warmer." She closed her eyes again and attempted to heat up, but the tugging sensation in her stomach immediately became sharp. August's breath caught, and she began coughing and hacking, rolling onto her side and hugging her chest.

"August what happened?" Ariadne asked, panicked.

"Its… its fine. Really, I'm fine." August sputtered. "I'm just out of energy."

"That's never happened before." Ariadne continued, looking worried as August rolled back unto her back.

"Well I've never killed a Titan before now have I?" August responded with a half-hearted laugh, which made the sharpness come back. "So are you all healed up?" August asked, trying to change the subject off of her.

"I ended up shattering my shoulder and fracturing my hip." Ariadne said with a shrug. "But I'm all healed up now for the most part. Just no rough housing for the next few days."

"Aww but that's the best part." August complained, pulling Ariadne back next to her.

"Well you're not exactly in the best shape either." Ariadne pointed out.

Then, there was a knock at the door. "We're landing." Leo said through it.

"Thanks Leo!" August called back.

"August." Ariadne looked at her like something was wrong. "You… you won't pick Godhood right?"

"No, of course not." August shook her head. "I don't want to become a God. I like being human."

Ariadne leaned down and kissed her. "Good. I want to be where you are, and that can't happen if you're a God."

The thud underneath the ship let August know that they had beached. "C'mon," August nodded towards the door. "Let's go say goodbye to the Romans."

* * *

><p><em>So we've got one more chapter, the epilogue, and then I take the rest of August off to work on Annabeth Chase VS the Internet. I'll let you know the date in September when I release the Sequel! <em>


	42. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41: Everyday Superhero**

Once the Romans had been dropped off, the Argo II switched to flight and made it's way back to New York. Once landed, August hadn't even made it back over the hill when the Grey sisters' cab, looking more like a prop out of the Haunted Mansion, pulled up and ushered August inside. The cab ride was long and silent; save for a foreign radio station that was talking in a language that August would have said was Greek if it hadn't been so staticky.

They reached Manhattan, and pulled up to the Empire State Building, August's door popping open on it's own, a rush of cool night air blowing into the cab and making the stuffy smell dissipate.

"Just take the elevator up to the 600th floor, and then ask the security guard for entrance." The first one said.

"Good luck, deary." The second one finished.

"Thanks for the ride." August said as she stepped out into the cool night air. Her Half-Blood t-shirt and jean shorts were surprisingly lacking warmth in the night breeze, even though it was right in the middle of summer. More surprisingly, she still wasn't able to heat herself up without the pain.

She made her way inside, surprised that no one was attempting to stop her, and pressed the button on the elevator to go up. The elevator lurched and sped up the levels at an abnormal speed, almost as if it was aware that the passenger was on important business. Finally, it abruptly stopped at the 600th floor, almost knocking August's knees out from under her. The doors opened, a bright light filling the lift.

August stepped off into the hallway. "I thought you had to switch elevators to get to this floor." She commented to herself, but thought nothing more until turned the first corner. A large, brass door that appeared to have a soft glow around it stood waiting, as if beckoning her in.

The security guard, who looked more interested in a green paperback novel with a thunderstorm on the cover than security, looked up from the pages. "Are you August?"

August nodded, "Yes."

"They're expecting you." He said, pulling the large door handle, opening up a large, luminous corridor to her.

"Thanks." August said, though it came out weak and nervous. She took a step forward into the light and began her walk.

Olympus was nothing like she had expected, though she didn't exactly know what she had expected. It was a paradise; golden buildings and green grass with a sky that always seemed to be either just at dawn or at dusk spread on for what seemed an eternity. Imps, satyrs, pegasi, and other creatures August had never seen before all harmonized together in the golden paradise.

She followed the marble path farther, through a large garden, and then to a large building that looked like a very big Greek temple. It reminded her of the Parthenon, and immediately felt stupid when she realized how obvious that sounded. As she walked forward, knew she had come to the throne room. She made it to the door of the temple and was about to grab the handle when it flew open in front of her.

"Augustine," a very deep, booming male voice called, "please enter."

She did so, and was greeted by a semicircle of all 12 of the main the gods on their respective thrones, all looking to be about ten feet tall, staring down at her. They all looked so regal in their togas, helms, and crowns, even her father, that it made her feel impossibly casual and under presented.

The only thing she could think to do was bow, which she did. "I'm here to answer your summons." August said, wondering what she should do next.

"That you are." Zeus said, his blue eyes flashing dangerously like a lightning bolt. August wasn't sure if she liked Zeus or not, or if he liked her, but said nothing. "You've done the impossible it seems."

"I honestly have no idea how I did it, my lord." August answered.

"Which makes you all the more dangerous and unstable." Hera said from her throne beside Zeus's. She looked like the perfect combination between Judge Judy and Angelina Jolie, and August felt her cold stare burrowing through her. This was not a warm lady.

"Hera, she's not dangerous." Apollo interjected, almost standing up out of his own seat. His sister Artemis had to grab his arm and wrestle him back down into his throne. It was good to see both of them, though August had a hard time coming to terms with Artemis in a form that wasn't a twelve-year-old girl and Apollo in a toga.

"Calm yourself, Apollo. We've already come to the conclusion that August will live to see many more days." Athena, who was sitting opposite of Apollo answered. "Maybe even many more lifetimes."

"You've done us a great service taking care of that pest of a Titan. We didn't think you had that potential. You may already know the question I'm about to ask, Augustine." Zeus said with a cocked eyebrow.

"I uh, have a hunch." She answered, feeling very small and frail next to the hulking giants that sat before her.

"Let's not beat around the bush with this." Zeus waved his hand dismissively. "Because of your astounding feat of not only defeating a Titan, but ending his existence all together, we're offering you Godhood. Do you or do you not accept this offer?"

August took a good look around the group, all eyes eagerly on her, before answering. "I don't think I can."

"What's holding you back?" Her father asked. "You'd be working hand in hand with me!"

August tried to answer, "I have duties on earth that-"

"No, you have a girlfriend on earth. You're duties there have finished." Ares, who had previously been looking rather bored with the meeting, spoke up. He didn't look how August thought he would. He was meaty with a shaved head and flaming eyes, not flowingly hansom and cut like so many pictures in books, vases and statues.

Ares continued, "You stick with us, not only do you get to battle whatever you want, ride the sun chariot, mess with mortals and travel the world, but you can get as much tail as you-"

"Ares!" Athena snapped, shutting her brother up before he could get into more detail. "Let's not, shall we?"

"Look, it's a fair reason to become a god! Not that you would know." Ares shot back.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus bellowed, diffusing the argument. "Augustine," He turned back towards her, "you're obviously aware of the fact that the stunt you pulled back in Hawaii won't go unnoticed by other monsters and Titans who will now be looking to destroy you whatever way they can. This is just as much for you as it is your new family."

"You see, August," Athena said, "you're more than just a target now. We're not offering you godhood just as a reward, but because you're now a liability. If you accept Godhood, you save yourself a lot of trouble, and your friends too. Your enemies will have a harder time coming after you if you're one of us."

"Also," Apollo butted in, "it will get rid of that sharp tugging sensation."

"Yeah, what is that?" August asked, putting a hand over her stomach.

"It takes a lot of energy to explode a Titan like that." Artemis said with a nod.

"Regardless of if Perseus and Jason helped you cool the lava, or if Hades helped you suck him of power, you used up more energy sealing that caldera than any of us would have thought possible." Apollo continued. It bothered August to see him so formal, and to refer to Percy by his real name. "But you didn't just seal the volcano, unfortunately."

"What are you talking about?" August asked, now worried that something was horribly wrong. The tugging sensation became very prominent, whether from nerves or something else.

"You sealed your life force in with it." Apollo finished.

"What does that mean?" August asked, panicking.

"Your life force is like your battery, and every time you use power, you tap into that force." Apollo explained. "And because you used so much power to seal that volcano, you accidentally sealed part of your life force in with it."

"Every time you use your power now, some of it gets sucked away by volcano. That not only means it slowly drains you, it can cause the volcano to get closer and closer to a full on eruption." Zeus continued. "That spells bad news for more than just you."

"There's got to be a way to reverse it without me having to be a God though, right?" August asked, now slipping farther into a panic.

"Yes, but it would take more than one God." Athena answered.

"Enough of this!" Ares slammed his fist down on his throne impatiently. "The obvious choice is Godhood! Let's just do this thing already!"

"Not if she doesn't want to go through with it!" Aphrodite now joined in to defend August, which was surprising to her considering the fact that Aphrodite had a well know romantic history with Ares.

"Look, I don't want to be a god!" August snapped, shutting everyone up. "I don't even want the attention of being a hero!"

"That's a shame, because there's no way to reverse that." Hera commented. "But you do understand that you are passing up a once in a lifetime chance at a perfect paradise of a life, no?"

"You can't know perfect paradise without knowing perfect suffering." August answered, now fed up with Hera's remarks. "I like being a mortal. All of the mixed emotions, the physical pains, the highs and lows, crazy people you meet, the precious time you have to take it all in. I live for that. I like that. I'm not going to give it up."

"What I would give to know one day of the things you feel." Aphrodite said with a wistful look in her eye. "I agree with your decision."

"As do I." Artemis agreed with a nod.

"If the mortal life is good enough for my son," Poseidon finally spoke up with a voice just as deep as Zeus's, but much smoother and calmer, "then there is no reason for it not to be good enough for you."

"Fine, great, mortality is fine." Hermes started, "but are you sure this is a safe option?" He asked the crowd. "If she doesn't chose godhood, she'll die one way or another."

"We can't force her into godhood if she doesn't want it." Artemis pointed out.

"But that still leaves a question of your life force." Hera pointed out.

"We'd need volunteers to get it loose from the volcano." Apollo continued.

"I'll do it." Artemis jumped in. "August has proven herself worthy, and I think she deserves this much."

"Good, but that's not enough." Apollo said, shaking his head. "We'll need more of you who can output enough power to dislodge August's life force."

"I say we let it stay put." Ares interjected. "If she's not taking up Godhood, she's too powerful to send out into the world with all of her life force in tact."

"I second Ares motion." Hera agreed.

"That's not exactly an untrue statement." Dionysus half whispered, more to himself than anyone.

"I disagree." Hephaestus finally spoke up. "Augustine deserves a normal life after all she's been through. My power may not be enough, but I volunteer my services."

"Come on, more of you has to budge!" Apollo argued, standing up. "She saved us a lot of time and effort!"

"She's not my daughter." Zeus said, leaning back into his throne passively. "And I'm half tempted to agree with my son and wife."

"I would if my power was enough to dislodge the life force." Aphrodite said.

"Ever since the ban on my power, I have barely been able to go into my true form, let alone dislodge a life force." Dionysus spoke, slumping back down into his throne as if to say that this conversation did not pertain to any of his concerns. "Besides, this will teach her a valuable lesson on control."

"I don't think I have enough energy to help either." Hermes agreed.

"It takes more energy than most of you know to raise crops." Demeter interjected.

"Look, ever since the drastic drop in followers and people praying to us," Hera started, looking haughty an arrogant already, "you know as well as any of us, Apollo, that we don't have the liberty of frivolous power spending anymore."

"Come on, Hera! This is NOT a frivolous excursion!" Apollo snapped. "Besides, the more of us that volunteer, the less power all of us use!" He argued.

"I'm interested in how this task would proceed." Poseidon commented. "I may have more than enough energy to spare."

Athena, hearing her rival speak up in favor of August, and not wanting to be outdone, suddenly shot up out of her throne. "I volunteer."

"Excellent!" Apollo said, clapping his hands.

"On one condition." Athena said before Apollo could finish. "August, you must champion for me."

August froze. The last time she had heard of anyone becoming any god's champion was when Juno, Hera's Roman half, forced Jason into the title. It hadn't ended well for him. But would Athena be different, she wondered.

"I… I… need some time to think that over." August answered. She wasn't ready to sign her soul over to a goddess that may or may not use her for life threatening tasks at any time she wished.

"I'm sure you do. Only a fool would just jump blindly into that title." Athena answered. "I'll give you to the end of the year to think about it. That should be plenty of time for you to make a well thought out decision."

"Well with that settled," Zeus said, slamming his fist down on his throne before August could interject or argue, "there is the matter of reward. Well, within reason of course." Zeus mentioned, as if rewarding August was more of a chore than anything.

"How many wished do I get?" August asked.

"Two." Zeus responded. "Three actually, but consider the life force bargain one."

"Ok, I'll use one for something material. I want…" She trailed off, thinking. "I want a quiver that gives me any arrow I need at the time I need it." August said. She didn't know what that popped into her head, but it would indeed come in handy.

"Done. I'll get started right away." Hephaestus agreed.

"And two, I want the mortal families of the campers, immediate at least, to be protected from mythical harm." August finalized.

"Fine. We will see to it that they get the best protection they can." Zeus agreed.

"Now, you must be returning to Half-Blood. I'm sure you need to rest." Apollo said. "I'll see you out."

August bowed, knowing that arguing over her life force some more would only cause more trouble. "Thank you for you time."

"Thank you for your service." Zeus said with a nod. "But be warned, Augustine." Zeus leaned forward, his face very stern and almost angry. "The path ahead of you will be long on gruesome from now on. You're going to start meeting people and monsters that you never imagined. Prepare yourself."

"Yes, my lord." August said, trying not to show how much what he had just said bothered her.

August stepped out of the temple, letting the door close behind her. She was going to duck into the bushes along the path and throw up, half out of fear and the other half out of tiredness, but suddenly Apollo appeared beside her, in a more casual garb of a white t-shirt and jeans.

"I know you don't like when I get all formal, but Zeus isn't exactly all for casual these days." He explained.

"Well, that's a bummer." August said, looking down at the ground. The meeting hadn't exactly yielded news that was good to hear, and she still felt slightly nauseous.

"You'll be ok." Apollo comforted, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"No, I won't." August contradicted. "I think I've just opened a can of worms that I'm sure as hell not ready to deal with, and I can't help but feel like I've just put everyone I love in danger. Why me?"

"August, listen to me." Apollo turned her around to meet his eyes, "I know that you're not exactly the daughter of the most powerful god, and I know that you have a lot of questions about what's going on. The one answer I can give you is this; your power doesn't come from your immortal side."

"It doesn't?" August shook her head, confused.

"No. Any one of my kids could have done what you did if they were given the same conditions. Your power comes from your heart. The prophecies don't pick heroes based on how strong they are physically. They pick heroes based on who they are as people." Apollo explained, continuing to walk her down the corridor. "And August, you are an exceptional person."

"I don't understand." August said, still not sure what her father was talking about.

"Let me put it this way. Nico could send an army of skeleton soldiers after you, suck your soul through a straw, behead you with a swipe of his sword, and find over a thousand ways to kill you. But, he doesn't have the emotional strength to be a hero." Apollo explained. "But you, you certainly do."

They had reached the end of the walk, the brass doors to the mortal world standing in front of them. "I think you need to take these next few months to be a kid. Have fun at camp, and when you get back to school, don't take everything so seriously. Visit your girlfriend, run, go to concerts. Have fun." Apollo instructed. "Any chance you get to be human, take it."

"I'll remember that." August nodded. "I'll miss you."

"No you won't." Apollo said, hugging her. "Because I'll always be there. Alright," he let go and nodded towards the doors. "Go to sleep, and then party."

"Ok." August said agreeing. "I'll see you around." She turned and walked through the doors and back into the real world, though she didn't feel like she belonged there anymore.

August walked back towards the elevator, completely numb. Too much had just happened in too short a period of time, and it didn't feel good. Then, one of her coping mechanisms kicked in. Ever since she was little, if she was sad, scared, lonely, or upset, she would sing to herself. A song that she had heard several times when she was younger slipped into her head. It was an older Smash Mouth song, a silly tune that played on the radio during the summer and reminded her of when she was just a kid, and not some sort of heroic semi-deity. She quietly began to sing as she stepped into the elevator, the song seeming to take the edge off her mind.

_Every morning I wake up just the same  
>Another victim of ordinary fame<br>I don't see myself as invincible  
>It's not true at all<br>I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero  
>Trying to save the world, but never really sure<br>I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero  
>Nothing more than that, that's all I really am<br>_

* * *

><p><em>And all we have left is the epilogue. This life line thing is going to play in heavily in the sequel, just so you know. Man, I can't believe this is almost the end! <em>


	43. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Ever Ever After**

After the "Battle of Hawaii" as the campers had now called it, the rest of August's summer went on as normal as it could in demigod terms, almost like nothing had even happened. The Roman camp had hosted the Feast of Fortuna, which lasted all that day and well into the night with both Greeks and Romans partying and celebrating their victories, as well as celebrating the finalization of the New Greece sector. The Greek Camp, in turn, had hosted the 4th of the July fireworks, which August had only seen the beginning and ending of due to Ariadne keeping her attention and lips occupied, but she enjoyed the whole thing thoroughly.

Annabeth and Percy, now free from their duties in New Rome, had both taken up their previously occupied roles as August's tutors, and the Apollo cabin was never dull as all of the Apollonites took it upon themselves to not only stop being the notorious slackers of the battle demigods, but even became one of the most revered cabins when it came to capture the flag.

The weeks went quickly for August. July was spent in classes learning everything from hand to hand combat to arts and crafts, and then outside of classes with Rachel, Ed, Ariadne, and her tutors and siblings. August couldn't have been happier, and the fame died down as the rest of summer went on. Everyone still respected her, even Reyna and Clarisse to an extent, but there wasn't the same star struck look on everyone's face when she entered a room. Camp Half-Blood was heaven, August was sure of it.

The last two weeks in the month of August became solemn and quiet as the summer died down, and August silently slipped into a funk herself. Classes stopped teaching new techniques and became mostly review, campers began packing up their items, and the camp began to seem very empty and somber at times.

The day before the last day of camp, August had retreated into the archery range, with Newman following. She had already had to pack everything in her new trunk for shipping, as it was too heavy to check on the plane. This left her nothing better to do while the rest of her cabin packed than to go fire arrows into targets.

THUNK

August's arrow hit perfect in the center of the target, just like every other arrow had. She quickly became bored, sadness creeping into her system. August had begun to realize over the past weeks that she was no longer a normal teen, and would have a difficult time adjusting to life back home. The only thing that gave her solace was the thought of seeing her school friends again, and the fact that she would be able to keep Newman around.

"Why are you sad, Master?" His voice asked, looking at her from his seated position next to her on the ground.

"I'm just wondering what am I going to do now?" She answered, sighing and slumping against a tree. The real world seemed so foreign and confusing now that she was a demigod.

"Well for starters, you can talk to me for a second." Ariadne said, causing August to almost jump out of her skin. She still wasn't used to Ariadne just appearing, even though the past few months had helped her acclimate to Ariadne's new skill.

"That sounds like a good idea." August sighed, happy to have Ariadne around to take her mind off of things.

"What is this?" Ariadne asked, pointing between the two of them and looking almost sad.

"The last day of camp?" August guessed.

"No, I mean us." Ariadne answered.

"It's a relationship." August answered, still not seeing where any of this was going.

"No, I mean…" Ariadne trailed off. "Do you love me, or was this just something fun for the summer?"

"I love you. Why, what was it for you?" August didn't like where this conversation was headed.

"It's love. I love you dearly, but that's the problem." Ariadne wiped a stray tear from her eye. "When am I going to get to see you again?"

"Well neither of our schools start until the end of the month, so you'll see me all this week and next week, and I thought we could switch weekends." August said.

"How?" Ariadne looked confused. "We live on the other sides of the country, in case you just forgot."

"With the portals between camps. I mean, they're open now, so we can take the Pegasi to the camps, and neither of us live far from the respective camps so we can just ride to each others houses." August explained stepping forward towards Ariadne.

"I… didn't think of that." Ariadne brightened up. "So we can switch weekends?"

"Yeah." August nodded. A silence gripped them for a few moments before Ariadne broke down and hugged August around the neck, sobbing.

"I don't want to go." She whimpered.

August's tears fell silently, though she felt just as bad. "Yeah, well I don't either. I don't want to leave my friends and family, and I can't help but feel like I won't fit in back home anymore." August answered.

"You?" Ariadne pulled away and looked at August like she was crazy. "But you're so normal compared to-"

"I'm far from normal anymore." August answered, shaking her head.

"Well join the club." Ariadne said with a halfhearted smile. The horn blew, and both August and Ariadne's heads turned towards the direction of the center of camp.

"The horn!" Newman exclaimed as he stood up and bolted towards the dining area.

"It's time for the bead ceremony." Ariadne said. "And it looks like Newman is just excited for the food."

"What do you think you'll get?" August asked, trying to break through the sadness they were both sharing.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll just get your initials." Ariadne laughed.

"I'll probably get something that doesn't make sense like a chainsaw or a muffin." August joked back.

"Or maybe you'll just get the words 'shit yeah!'" Ariadne said through more laughter.

"This has been the greatest time of my life." August said as she nodded Ariadne to follow her back down the path to Half-Blood, feeling a little bit better. "I can't help but feel like I won't be able to top it."

The beading ceremony was tearful and heartfelt, with Chiron handing out each bead to each camper over dinner. Most had to do with the role they played in the battle, some were more personal, others were funny. Percy was given a rain cloud with a lightning bolt underneath it, and Annabeth's had one with a strategy scroll on it for her excellent use of tactics.

"Augustine Beakon." Chiron called. The crowed roared as Chiron handed August a leather chord with a single bead on it. The bead was blue with a golden sun on it, and it seemed to fit everything perfect. "I trust it fits?"

"Amazingly!" August said with a grin. She sat back down with her siblings at her table, and was quickly caught around the neck by Ariadne.

"Look at it! It's awesome!" Ariadne squealed sitting down next to August, showing off her necklace. The last bead was of a human silhouette in a running position, with speed streaks behind it.

"Heck yeah it is!" August said with a high five.

"Heroes!" Chiron boomed across the crowd.

"I've gotta get back to my table." Ariadne whispered to August, and then kissed her on the cheek before she left.

"It's been another eventful summer!" He continued. "I'm sure we've all got plenty of stories to tell when we get home!" Chiron waited as the crowd cheered in response. "Well, as it is with every story, this one is coming to a close. But, that doesn't mean more stories won't continue to be created and told for many more years to come! To celebrate another year of victory and kinship, let's let the Apollo cabin lead us in some campfire songs."

Once again the crowd cheered as they all got up and moved to the campfire seating. The camp sang well into the night, everything seeming so light and happy even with the impending sorrow of the next day looming over them.

After the campfire, August slumped into her bunk, but didn't feel like sleeping. She felt as if she closed her eyes, she'd wake up and everyone would have just disappeared.

"So, how are you going to make it work?" Sandy asked from underneath August's bunk.

"With Ariadne?" August clarified. Sandy nodded. "We'll take the portals and see each other on weekends."

"Hey, I hope the best for you two." Sandy said, fist bumping August.

"Well, I guess this is it campers." Will announced as he entered the cabin. "Circle time, I want to talk to you about something."

The six other campers including August shuffled off of their bunks and sat in a circle around the throw rug that Will had put down exactly for these kinds of meetings. "As you know, I'll be turning twenty next March, and though it isn't really a rule, I think we all know that it's time for me to move on."

"What?" Paul barked, shocked.

"No, come on Will you've still got another year in you!" Austin protested.

"How can you be so sure?" Kayla whined.

"Ok, calm down!" Will urged, trying to keep the already emotional night less erratic. "I didn't say I was leaving camp for good now did I?" Will asked the group.

"Well, you sure sounded like it." Jimmy griped.

"I'm not. I'm only saying that it's time for me to move on as a head councilor." Will explained. "Clarisse, Chris, and I have all agreed that while we will still be back to help teach classes and supervise battles and such, we're not going to be head councilors of our cabin."

"So who get's the job then?" August asked.

"You." Will answered.

August froze, stunned. "What?"

"Hey, you've proven yourself to be really good at this leadership thing. I think you can handle it!" Will said with a smile.

"I mean, I guess…" August trailed off, still unsure.

"You guess?" Will looked at her sideways.

"I'm sure." August answered, a smile taking over her face.

"Ok, everyone let's group hug it out and then head to bed." Will commanded, clapping his hands. They did indeed hug it out, August getting crushed in the middle, and then all slumped into their respective bunks for their last night at camp.

"What time's you're flight?" Ariadne asked through more tears the next morning as she and August sat on the hill and over looked the car line that was picking up all the campers that lived close enough to the camp to be driven there.

"One. I've got to be in the van in an hour." August responded. "But I'll see you tomorrow so it's not like it matters."

"Yes it does!" Ariadne protested. "This is the first time since I've met you that I can't immediately wake up and see you."

"If I could stay here forever I would!" August protested back, feeling like her world had just come to an end.

Ariadne pulled August in for another hug. "I would too."

"Why don't we?" August asked, the idea dawning on her. Annabeth and several others had done in throughout the years. Romans did it all the time like it wasn't a big deal.

"We can't, you know that." Ariadne grumbled into her shoulder.

"What do you have at home that's so important?" August asked, not wanting to hear excuses.

"A loving father, a new high school, friends, a little sister, and an over bearing step mom that would kill me." Ariadne answered, pulling away and hugging her knees into her chest.

August thought about her mother and her own friends back home and remembered her own ties. "Oh yeah…"

"Arry! Ariadne!" A loud male voice came booming up the hill. August's heart sank.

"Come meet my dad." Ariadne said, gesturing down the hill. "I just hope he didn't come with Martha."

"You're step mom?" August asked as she followed.

"Yeah. She's uh… not exactly LGBT friendly." Ariadne answered. "Also, don't mention anything to my dad. I wrote him about you, but I didn't tell him we were together. I think it's best I tell him alone so he can acclimate better."

"Not friendly either?" August asked, not liking the sound of Ariadne's parents.

"Oh no, he is. He just probably never expected me to actually fall for a girl." She answered.

They got to the bottom of the hill where a tall, fair man with dark curly hair in a polo shirt and kahkis was waiting by a BMW SUV. "There you are!" He said excitedly as he took Ariadne in his arms and held her tight.

"I missed you too, dad." Ariadne answered, once again crying.

August turned to leave, not wanting to interrupt anything. "And this is August." Ariadne said before August could fully turn away.

"Oh, ok. The hero of the hour." Mr. DeLonge said, extending his hand. "I'm Mr. DeLonge, but John is fine."

"August." She responded as she shook his hand. He seemed kind and caring, which made August feel better about leaving Ariadne. "And yeah I guess you could say that."

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Ariadne asked.

August nodded and extended her hand, not wanting shock Ariadne's father before Ariadne had a chance to talk to him.

Ariadne took it and pulled August in for a very tight hug. "Of course." She answered, pulling away.

"You live close by?" Mr. DeLonge asked.

"It's a long story dad. I'll explain it in the car." Ariadne answered.

"Alright then. You're stuff is in the car already. Is there anyone else you wish to say goodbye to?" He asked, opening the passenger door for her.

"No, I've already said goodbye to everyone." Ariadne answered, seeming exhausted even though she had only been awake for a few hours.

"Well August, I guess I'll be seeing you soon then." Mr. DeLonge said nodding to her.

"If that's ok." August said, unable to keep eye contact with Mr. DeLonge. He was very hansom and seemed very nice, but there was something about meeting Ariadne's father that made August nervous.

"Of course." He nodded.

Ariadne got into the car and winked at August. "I'll see you soon then."

"Yep, that you will." August said with a smile.

With that, Ariadne closed the door, and they both drove off.

"Well I'm packed. You want to head to the airport early so we can go get coffees and shitty tabloids?" Ed asked from behind August. She had no idea how long he'd been there, and hoped she came off less nervous than she had felt.

"You're packed? For what?" August asked, genuinely confused.

"To go home, duh!" Ed said like it was obvious.

"Where's home for you, Ed?" August asked, still confused. She thought he'd be staying at camp now that she had made it.

"There are satyr camps all over the states. I'm going to live in the one in between Jupiter and LA." Ed answered. "It keeps me close to you and the Roman camp in case of an emergency."

"So you're going back with me then?" August asked.

"Of course I am! Just because you made it to camp doesn't mean I just up and drop you!" Ed responded, shocked that August would even think of such a thing. "So, are you ready?"

"MASTER!" Newman called as he barrled down the hill towards her, and then crashed into her and pinned her to the ground. "Master! I shall go to Jupiter and wait for you there, so I may come to your home and be with you!" He said, purring and looking into August's eyes with his own big, green ones.

"Sounds great, Newman. Now please let me up!" August asked, and he did so.

"August, wait!" Rachel's voice came down the hill, followed by her red hair and then finally the rest of her. "I know that you're just about to head out, but I wanted you to have this." She handed August a business card with Rachel's home phone and cell number as well as email, and a small leather pouch that was filled with drachma. "Chiron told me to give you the coins, but I wanted you to have my info because we're essentially BFF's now."

"You're awesome!" August said, pulling her in for a hug.

"I'll also be calling you in anything else comes up, so add that number into your phone." Rachel instructed, giving August a knowing look.

"Oh, got it!" August nodded.

"Well I don't want to keep you, have fun back home! And seriously, stay out of trouble." Rachel said as she turned to make her way up the hill.

"Will do!" August called back.

"Ah, there's Argus. You ready?" Ed asked, nodding towards the van.

August turned back towards the hill, now looking very normal, and shook her head. "No, and I never will be." With that, August turned around, got in the van with Ed, and drove away from the greatest adventure she had ever had.

* * *

><p><em>And our story, for now, comes to a close!<br>Thank you all SO much for sticking with my story! It means a lot to me!  
>But, just because this is the end of this story, doesn't mean that there isn't a SEQUEL! However, there will be a break for about a month or so until the sequel, because I'm starting college in a week and need some time to get acclimated.<br>Anyways, thanks again for your support and your awesomeness! _


	44. Sneak Preview

_And now for a sneak peek of August's next adventure:_

**All The Right Places: An Olympic Hero Tale**

_Athena turned towards me. "Lets put this to rest shall we? August?"_

_"Yes my Lady?" I asked, waiting for her to continue._

_"I need an answer. Will you become my personal champion?" She asked, looking me dead in the eyes. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. If I said yes, I was an errand runner of epic proportions and could be called on dangerous missions at any time. If I said no, my lifeline was tied to a volcano that would slowly suck it away from me. I was stuck between too sucky options, but with only one solution._

_I looked up at her and nodded. "Yes, I will."_

**Coming September 7****th**** 2012**


End file.
